The Return of Zorpox
by Slyrr
Summary: Team Probable returns & uses the Attitudinator to bring back Kim's most dangerous foe, Zorpox. A thrilling adventure in which good and love are pushed beyond their limits, and Kim is nearly destroyed by Grimm Probable's most dangerous weapon. The truth.
1. Chapter 1 There & Back Again

The Return of Zorpox:

All Things Probable 2

A Kim Possible Fanfiction

by G. Fisk (aka "Slyrr")

Kim Possible copyrighted by Disney, etc.

Illustrated version hosted at author's homepage

Professor Dementor strode through his immense lair. In a wide circular rim, his henchmen were seated at numerous computer consoles according to orders. He stood above them on an upper gantry which led to the main control room. He felt a dark satisfaction as he surveyed them at work. Everything was ready. He checked his watch.

'Ze time has come!' he said simply, then he snapped his fingers, and inside the control room, one of his men hit a large red button on the main console. A huge, circular hole slid open in both the ceiling and floor of the lair. From the gigantic pit, a towering machine rose up with a thundering mechanical rumble until it locked into place, pointing a spiked electrode into the sky like a thorny robotic finger.

Dementor grinned. 'With ze power of ze Ultra-Atmospheric-Jammer, every satellite orbiting ze earth will be placed under my direct control! Ze top secret communications of every government on ze Earth will soon be no secret to _me_! Ze whole world will learn zat ze privacy they once took for granted is about to become _very_ expensive!'

'Speech is _free_, Dementor! Everyone knows that!' said an echoing voice from the other side of the rim.

Dementor stared. Stepping from the shadows was a trim, athletic girl with red hair, wearing a black shirt and cargo pants. 'Kim Possible?' he yelled. 'How did you...?'

'Find you?' she smiled. 'Next time don't use a forwarding address to have your equipment delivered. So not the evil genius!'

'Minions!' Dementor cried out. 'Attack!' At once, every grey-suited henchman leaped from his chair and charged at Kim with roaring shouts. The henchman from the control room vaulted over the railing and dropped down to join in the assault.

'I'm coming, Kim!' yelled a squealy voice from above. From a swinging cord, Ron swooped down through the hole in the ceiling with a shrill battle cry. 'Boooo-yaaaaaaaaaaah!!' The henchman stopped, staring up at him, and in so doing, Ron sailed harmlessly past them, yelling 'Hey! No fair!'

Kim sighed. She flipped forward, leaping to the attack, kicking back against the chests of two henchmen, who cried out and tumbled over the guard rail into the pit from which the Ultra-Atmospheric-Jammer had emerged. Kim backflipped, sliding across the floor and sending two more henchmen falling on their faces as she knocked their feet out from under them.

Dementor gritted his teeth as Kim took down another henchman with a quick foot sweep and tumbled towards another with a series of backflips. 'Use ze catchwebs, you fools!' he said, stamping his foot. Several of the henchmen pulled out what looked like flare guns, firing them with loud bangs. White spheres shot out which exploded into what looked like wide nets, flying straight at her.

Kim gasped and rolled to the side, barely avoiding being entangled by the web-like shots. But they were still firing at her, and she found herself being herded into a corner. Soon she would not have enough room to avoid their shots...

A wailing scream became louder and louder, and suddenly Ron swung from the side, having completed a circular arc through the base after his first miss. He was tangled in the rope of his grappling hook and hanging upside down, plainly out of control, but he plowed straight into the line of henchmen. Several catchweb guns went off as a result of the impact, and when the dust cleared, the entire squad was struggling within a sticky mass of white nets while Ron dangled above them, still spinning on the end of his grappling line. 'Ow!' he said. 'That _really_ hurt!'

Rufus, who was gripping to the flap of his pants pocket, nodded. 'Uh huh! Uh huh!' he squeaked, before dropping to the floor.

Kim turned and looked at the upper gantry, where Dementor stared in amazement at his immobilized and helpless men. He dashed into the control room. Kim fired her grappling gun and was soon soaring up after him. She caught up with him inside the control room, which was covered with panels and had large glass windows that looked out over the pit, in which the Ultra-Atmospheric Jammer stood glowing and throbbing with power.

'You are too late Kim Possible!' Dementor said. He took out another catchweb gun and aimed it slowly at her. 'In only ten seconds, ze Jammer will activate, and whether you capture me or not, I have now set it to make every satellite re-enter orbit and destroy themselves! I am about to plunge every nation in ze world back to ze Stone Age! Surrender, or ze resulting global chaos will be on your head!'

'You're forgetting about what's on _your_ head, Dementor!' said Kim with a smile.

Dementor looked confused. 'What?' he said. 'Is zere something wrong with my helmet?' he felt his helmet curiously.

'There is now!' said Kim. Rufus leaped and started crawling around on the eye holes of Dementor's helmet. He flailed and twitched.

'Ach!' he screamed. 'Get zis vermin off me! _Ekeln! Er hat keinen pelz!'_

Kim leaped forward, landing a solid kick in Dementor's chest. Rufus flipped up and Kim caught him neatly in her hands while Dementor flew back into the wall and collapsed with a groan. But he looked up smiling. 'You think you have won?' he said. 'You still cannot stop my Jammer!'

Kim stood at the main console, still smiling. Then she reached down and hit a large red button. The holes in the floor and the ceiling began to close again.

'No!' said Dementor, waving his hands. 'Zat equipment is extremely fragile...!' But the massive panels closed, crushing the spire of the Jammer at the ceiling with a flurry of sparking bursts, while at the base, the Jammer was pinched from it's housing in the middle. The Jammer fell to the side and collapsed into a massive pile of smoking junk.

Dementor stared at the shattered wreck of his machine. 'Ja, zat would do it.' he said feebly.

Police were leading Dementor and his tangled henchmen out of the base. Ron was still swinging from the ceiling - the closing panels had not snapped his grappling line. 'Way to go, KP!' he said. 'I'd have helped, but I thought I'd just hang out for a bit!'

'You helped.' she said fairly. 'Thanks for taking out the henchmen.'

'Aw, no big!' he said. 'But could you, like uh, get me down or something?'

Kim sighed. 'Just hit the release button on your belt.' she said.

'Oh yeah...' said Ron, and he squirmed in the tangle of rope for a moment. Kim heard a click, and then Ron fell to the floor with a yelp. Kim and Rufus glanced up. Ron's pants were still swaying from the rope in mid-air.

'Aw _man_!' said Ron, standing up. His polka-dot boxers flapped in the breeze.

Kim looked away, blushing. The more things changed, the more they stayed the same...

With a high pealing ring, the bell sounded through the halls at Middleton High. The marquee outside sported bold letters reading "You want to put off your homework until WHEN?"

Kim managed to avoid seeing Jim and Tim between classes as much as possible. She wasn't sure if they liked bumping into her because it made her uncomfortable, or if being in the same school as their big sister made _them_ uncomfortable. They certainly got into their own share of mischief, and were building quite a reputation at the school beyond Kim's sphere of influence.

She closed the door to her locker with a metallic clang and saw Ron coming down the hall, waving. 'Yo KP!' he said. 'You up for a Naco run after cheerleader practice?' He stopped, leaning on the lockers next to hers.

'As long as you're there.' she said, smiling. 'We've got at least two hours in separate classes until then. I could use a little Ron-shine to pull me through...'

With that she slid her arms around him and gave him a slow, but chaste kiss. When she broke it off, Ron stood dithering.

'Whaugh... oooh... uh... woah...' he said, looking cross-eyed and woozy. Kim smiled. They'd been dating for many weeks, but he still got just as thunderstruck by her kisses as ever. It was blatant flattery, but she loved it.

'I'll miss you.' she said warmly, and gave him another quick kiss on his lips. At once, there was a flash of light and a tinny voice sounded through a megaphone. 'Attention Middleton High!' came Tim's voice. 'Your school has been infested with cooties! Evidence will soon be photocopied and posted on the bulletin boards along with instructions on how to protect yourselves!'

Kim turned in fury and saw Jim dashing down the hallway, looking back at his sister and waving a camera with a grin, while Tim hared after him, megaphone in hand. 'You _tweebs_!!!' she said, her teeth gritted, her face flamed red. All around, other students were chuckling and staring. Bonnie's face stood out in the crowd, a pleasured smile on her face. Kim turned back to Ron, noting that while he was a bit red around the ears, he didn't look nearly as flustered as she did. 'Later Ron - I've gotta go... _deal_ with this.' and she dashed down the hall after her brothers. Ron watched her as she tore down the hallway and disappeared around a corner.

'Cooties.' he heard Bonnie's voice faintly as she turned and walked away. 'Do her brothers have any idea how _lame_ they are? Still, I hope they beat her to the photocopier...'

Ron shrugged, reflecting that Bonnie simply didn't get it. When you were comfortable in your own skin, it didn't matter whether you knew if anyone thought you were lame or not. And Jim and Tim were certainly comfortable with who they were. _'I can't believe she said she liked me in her diary...' _he thought, hoisting his backpack and making his way to the next class.

Far from Middleton, a medium-upper scale house stood among a group of similar houses on a suburban street. Two figures walked up the sidewalk and into the house, closing the door behind them. One was an athletic-looking teenage boy with a head of spiked auburn hair. The other was a blonde-haired girl. Grimm Probable strode into the entryway with Rhonda Fatigable at his side.

'Mom, I'm home!' he shouted, his voice seeming for all things as if he had simply been out a little too late and that he was now apologizing.

A voice came from the kitchen area. 'Grimm? Your father and I were worried about you - you were out so late last night!'

'Sorry Mom, I got held up on a job from my website.'

'Well, how did it go dear?' came the voice from the kitchen.

Grimm shrugged. 'Mixed bag.' he said.

'Well, you got a package last evening. I went ahead and put it in your room. And breakfast will be ready in ten minutes, Grimm.' said Mrs. Probable.

'We'll be up in a few.' he called back. 'Is it OK if Rhonda joins us?'

'That would be fine, dear!'

''Thanks Mom.' he said. 'Oh by the way - Rhonda and I are dating!' Grimm smiled as he heard a shriek of excitement come from the kitchen, then he turned toward the stairs.

Grimm went down the stairs into the basement. A sign on the door said "Grimm's Room". He strode in and Rhonda followed him, the door closing behind them with a click. The lights flicked on. Grimm's room combined the look of a secret lab with a typical crashing site for a teenage guy. Unfolded clothes and sports posters competed with equipment, panels and computers for space.

'Home sweet home-away-from-home!' said Rhonda, flouncing into a beanbag chair. A small weasel slithered out of her backpack and landed next to her with a soft _phlumph_. Rueful put his paws behind his head and let out a relaxed sigh. Grimm smiled as he sat down at a table littered with boxes and papers and took out his communicator.

'Jade,' he said. 'we're back!'

Jade popped up on the screen to his communicator. Her spiked hair with it's colored streaks framed irregularly around a thin, pretty face. 'G-man! Took the scenic route home! How was your _date_?' she said with a wink.

'Rope it in, Jade.' he said smiling. 'Just because Rhonda and I are shipping doesn't mean you can go all coy on me. How's our street rep?'

'Still sizzling!' said Jade with a grin. 'You've got five more job offers. First is from someone named Killigan, and that Drakken guy has been emailing two or three times a day...'

'Put them on hold Jade.' said Grimm, waving his hand. 'We're going to be working on a personal project for a while.'

Rhonda looked up from her chair. From her shoulder, Rueful poked his head up, cocking it from side to side.

'Personal?' said Jade.

Grimm nodded. 'We've still got unfinished business with Possible and her crew.' he said. 'Our last encounter with them was technically a success for us since Drakken made off with the Stafford technology. But it still ended with us getting caught.'

'Come on, that was weeks ago.' chirped Rhonda, sidling up behind him and putting her hands on his shoulders. 'Besides, I'm not complaining about how things turned out!' Grimm glanced up with a smile, but his eyes were steely and cold.

'Kim _played_ us. That's not gonna stand.'

'So... what's the skinny?' said Jade, looking both apprehensive and eager at the same time.

'We're going to engineer some play-back.' he said. 'And I think I know the perfect way.' He pulled a package labeled "HenchCo" across the table towards himself. 'I dipped into the petty cash a while back and ordered this.' Rhonda looked down and saw a label on the side which read, "Attitudinator" along with a small diagram - it looked like a helmet of some kind.

Grimm laid a photo down. 'Anyone knows that to break a chain, you go after the weakest link.' he said quietly. 'But we're going to take it a step further. We're going to take Kim Possible's weakest link and turn it into our strongest one!' Rhonda stared at the photo. It looked like Ron Stoppable, but he was dressed in some kind of weird cap and was wearing goggles and a cape.

'I'm gonna be leaning on you pretty heavy for this one Jade.' he said. 'We'll need information. _Lots_ of it. Can you get into the records of Possible's hacker without him knowing?'

Jade cracked her knuckles. 'Just _watch_ me!'

Kim's day didn't get much better as it progressed. Later in practice, the rest of the cheer squad were stretching and doing warm-ups. Bonnie was lounging on the bleachers, talking on her cell phone. 'Head in the game, Bonnie!' Kim said, motioning to the gym floor where everyone except Bonnie was getting ready.

Bonnie's resentful face went up like a mask and she shut her phone off, glaring at Kim as if she had interrupted the most important call of her life. 'Have you got some major luncheon appointment lined up or something?' she said, 'What's with the rush hour treatment?'

'It's just that some of us have lives to live, and the sooner we get started, the sooner we can live them!' Kim said.

Bonne took her place in the squad line-up. 'Oh I keep forgetting - your GBF is probably waiting for you somewhere.'

'GBF?' said Kim questioningly, but she guessed an instant before Bonne spoke what she was about to say.

'_Geek_ boyfriend.' she said, her hands on her hips.

'Grow _up_ Bonnie, everyone is so over that.' said Kim, feeling nettled despite herself.

'He may think you're all that, but everyone knows that _I'm_ the one carrying the squad now that you and he have got your heads in the clouds.' she said, putting a new slant on her tiresomely held belief that she was the only girl on the entire squad.

'Define 'everyone'. said Kim coldly.

Bonnie didn't answer directly, but came up with an equally sharp barb. 'You know in the time it took you to argue about 'getting started', we could have started already?'

'So not the drama!' said Kim.

'And do you _ever_ get as tired of saying that as we do of _hearing_ it?' Bonnie said.

Kim stared, feeling as if an icy thread was connecting her gaze with Bonnie's. She clapped her hands and the squad, who were starting to fidget and glance nervously at each other, began practicing the routine.

In his dark computer room, Wade surfed several web sites at once. No mission alerts had yet come up on Kim's web site, so he had some down-time to enjoy. As he tended to various auctions and other raids with his clan in Everlot, his eye flashed towards his router boxes. He could have sworn, from the blinking alone, that someone was trying to access his systems. But another glance at the monitor which he used to track his firewalls showed only the usual intrusion attempts which were all blocked and showing green checkmarks. He kept an eye on it all the same, but was more engrossed in his exploits within Everlot.

Grimm looked at the lists of data scrolling on his computer screens. 'Well,' he said. 'She _does_ get around.' Rhonda sat on a stool off to the side looking sulky. Grimm could sense it, and added as an aside, 'Not nearly as cute as you, though.' Rhonda blushed and seemed to relax a little.

'Is it all accurate?' he said. A small window showing Jade's face popped onto one of his monitor screens.

'Good as gold.' she said. 'It actually wasn't that hard to get. Kim hasn't made any big secret about her missions. Seems like she really enjoys everyone knowing about how many times she's saved the world...'

'Show-off.' growled Rhonda from the side.

'And there are plenty of news reports to confirm it.' Jade continued. 'You'd think a girl with as many enemies as she's got would want to keep her home address secret...'

'Focus on the incident with the Mega Weather Generator.' Grimm said curtly. 'And see if you can gather as much as you can on their current schedules. When they go to school, where they work, when they're at home, that sort of thing. Is the equipment ready to go?'

'That's a big 10-4.' Jade said. 'And I've got a couple locations in Middleton already scoped out. Addresses to follow.'

'You rock, Jade.' he said, smiling as more and more data kept coming into his inbox.

'I've got the rock if you've got the roll!' Jade answered. 'Middleton awaits!'

Grimm stood up. Rhonda still looked a little miffed, but she smiled as she looked in his eyes. 'Put on something black and slinky.' he said, pulling documents from his printer. 'Team Probable is on the job again!'

Coming Soon:

Chapter 2: Small and Simple Things

_Author:_

_This story is the second KP fanfiction I've written. Originally, I had planned to have Dr. Drakken use the Attitudinator to turn Ron back into Zorpox. However, after writing "All Things Probable", I was so pleased with the way the characters in Team Probable turned out that it actually made more sense to make "The Return of Zorpox" a sequel to the story._

_It may be vanity associated with the fact that Team Probable were my own creations, but I truly thought the characters had deep psychological pull which made them an excellent choice for the sequel. Reader response to Team Probable was very positive. I didn't get nearly as MUCH response as I would have liked, so I can't be sure it represents how the entire KP community would feel. But the people who did respond nearly all spoke in highly favorable terms of the characters._

_I'm saying nothing against any of the established KP villains, but none of them had much of a psychological aspect to them. Almost all of them want to take over the world, and act in a nearly identical fashion, with physical plots, physical devices, and physical threats to KP and her team. (The notable exception was Drakken's Eric gambit in "So the Drama")_

_When I decided to write a fanfiction, I knew simply from watching Batman cartoons that if you can come up with a truly memorable and cool villain, then a story will practically write itself. The thing was, the typical base of villains has been admirably covered by the show already. The only thing left would be to make a stronger, scarier villain who was more threatening and powerful than the ones already made by the writers on the show. But given that KP is a show for kids, you can't do that. Blood and injury is eschewed, especially by Disney, and it just didn't seem right to have a KP villain who was actually trying to KILL her._

_And so in creating Team Probable, I wanted something that went deeper than physical danger. The idea of an 'anti' Team Possible, with members who were their 'opposites' appealed to me greatly. But I wanted a foe that would not only be able to vie with Kim physically, but someone who could mess with her head and get her to question herself. Someone who knows the best way to defeat an enemy is to get them to defeat themselves._

_Not only did I decide to make Team Probable into opposites by making them criminals, I also decided to reverse the gender of each one. This added, among other things, an element of chemistry to this group of anti-Possibles. Hence, Grimm Probable practically jumped out from my keyboard and drew himself in my sketchbook. _

_Grimm represents an opposite to Kim in so many ways - overt and subtle. He's a guy, she's a girl. Both are competitive and athletic, and both enjoy helping people who they think are in trouble or oppressed. But while Kim helps people because of a good heart and for fun, Grimm helps troubled villains for fun and profit. Kim is a natural leader. Grimm is a skilled puppet-master. Kim loves to take charge and seems to enjoy the attention it gives. Grimm prefers to weave events from the sidelines and feels more in control as a power behind the throne. Kim's fighting style comes from cheerleading and sixteen forms of Kung-Fu, and is very aggressive and flashy. Grimm's style comes from gymnastics and Tai Shing Pek Kwar, which is primarily a defensive form of Kung-Fu. In most of his battles, he prefers to make his opponents come to him and to be so skilled in fending them off that they begin to doubt their abilities. (This served the purpose of being a way to psychologically tweak his foes, as well as getting around the whole 'you can't hit girls' thing) Hence, his fighting style is more relaxed, quiet and calculated. Their moods reflected this as well. While Kim is outgoing and nearly forceful, Grimm is more calm and cunning._

_Rhonda Fatigable stands opposite to Ron. Both are energetic and eager, though clumsy. (Though no gimmick will ever be used to make Rhonda's pants fall down, for obvious reasons) Rhonda is Grimm's best friend and was drawn to him, just as Ron is drawn to Kim. Both are a bit insecure and unambitoius, but have amazing potential when motivated. I have not yet written a 'power' for Rhonda to be an opposite to Ron's Mystical Monkey Power. But I have written her as a student of Judo as opposed to karate or Kung-Fu. Rhonda can be motivated to near-nastiness when she feels someone is in 'her' territory - and after All Things Probable, that turned to a very short temper which flares up against anyone who goes after 'her' Grimm._

_I wanted to shy away from the typical villains who always put each other down, sell each other out and never cooperate. Instead I made a group that truly liked each other, meshed well, worked together as a team, and are protective of each other. It made for a more interesting dynamic to have them band together when things get tough instead of abandoning each other as most TV villains do. Not ALL villains are craven cowards._

_Zorpox of course stands out as one of the most memorable KP villains ever and I wanted to give his return a proper level of respect. And so there are several threads woven into his return by Grimm which takes the story far beyond simply having Zorpox reappear. As "The Return Of Zorpox" unfolds over the next month or so, hopefully you will draw as much enjoyment from the story as I gained simply by writing it._


	2. Chapter 2  Small & Simple Things

The Return of Zorpox

Chapter 2

High above Middleton, a jet plane was soaring. The side door opened and Grimm peered out into a blue void streaked with white clouds. Rhona stood behind him, looking out much more nervously. 'Time to bail.' said Grimm, staring down at the city which was laid out beneath them like a patchwork quilt. He turned back towards the cockpit. 'Thanks for giving us a lift, Senor Senior Sr.' he called out.

'It was my distinct pleasure, Mr. Probable.' came the soothing, sonorous voice of the evil billionaire. 'It is the least I could do after your help engineering my latest jailbreak.'

'No big.' he answered. 'Anyone could have hijacked the prison's PA system to broadcast a hypnotic signal which made all the guards think you'd been paroled.'

Rhonda was breathing hard as she steadied herself against the frame of the hatch. 'Steady girl...' she said. '...you've free-fallen lots of times...'

'And here's one more.' said Grimm, leaping out of the hatch and pulling her after him.

'Aaaaah!' she screamed.

Later still, Kim dashed into her house, pounding up the stairs towards her room. School was over, practice had ended, and lunch with Ron had gone by faster than she would have liked. Luckily Wade had not called with any missions, for she had only fifteen minutes to get ready for her job at Club Banana.

'How was your day, honey?' said Mrs. Possible, her head poking out of the kitchen.

'So not over!' she said, rounding the stairs and heading to her room to change clothes. When she got upstairs, she saw Jim and Tim, fiddling with her computer and her I-pod. 'Out, tweebs!' she said hotly. 'So not in the mood! And anything you did to my stuff, you _un_do it when I leave or I'll make sure Mom and Dad hear about your attempted takeover as school photo-journalists!'

'Talk about a...' said Jim.

'...killjoy.' said Tim. They both picked up their tools and glared as Kim pushed them out and slammed the door behind her.

Within a few minutes, she was changed and coming down the stairs, heading for the door. 'Don't forget you've got chores before bed.' came her father's voice from the kitchen. Kim poked her head in. She remembered the chore list with an exasperated groan.

'Can I put it off 'till tomorrow?' she said. 'Been one of those days.'

Her Mom and Dad were both seated at the table, drinking coffee. Her dad looked up from the newspaper, his eyes sympathetic but firm. 'Sorry there, Kimmy-cub.' he said. 'But you know the chore list SOPs. Each one has to be done by a certain day, and the deadline on vacuuming is tonight.'

'But _Dad_...!' she said, using her poutiest voice and pointing at her watch. He sighed and shook his head firmly.

'Now dear,' said her Mom, her voice equally sympathetic but pitiless, 'Jim and Tim have done theirs already, it wouldn't be fair to make them do yours.'

Dr. Possible looked at his wife. 'You know, we _could_ relax the deadline if she cuts back on her practice and dating time...'

Kim sighed heavily. 'I'll do it as soon as I get home!' she said, stepping toward the door.

As she made her way to work, Kim was mentally re-arranging bits and pieces of her schedule, trying to figure out how to work everything in. Why did they all have to make life so _difficult_? She wondered briefly if any of her arch-enemies ever had to worry about stuff like this.

Soon she could see the mall looming ahead of her. Her mind was still on her schedule, only half paying attention as she threaded her familiar path towards Club Banana. Through flowing traffic, on the other side of the street, she did not see two people walking down the sidewalk, arm in arm...

'So this is Middleton.' said Rhonda, looking around. 'Kim Possible lives _here_? I hate it already.' Rueful was in her backpack. She could feel him breathing softly, his expanding and deflating lungs pressing gently against her back as he slept.

'I know.' said Grimm. His eyes were more focused. 'Keep an eye out in case you spot either of them. We don't want them to see us until we've set everything up.' He took out his communicator. 'Time, Jade.' he said. 'Are you sure about their schedules?'

'Sure as shootin.' Jade chirped with a stage western accent. 'In fact, Kim just passed you on the other side of the street. She works at a place called "Club Banana" in the Middleton Mall.'

Grimm's head snapped over his shoulder to look at the Mall. He saw a head of red hair disappearing into the building, and felt Rhonda's arm tense as she gripped him harder.

'No _way_!' she said. 'That's the outlet where we get all our mission clothes!'

'Never mind for now.' he said, holding her arm steady in his. 'Is the package delivered?'

Jade chimed in again. 'Should be in his mailbox ATM.' she said. 'He won't be home for another couple of hours.'

'That's more than enough time to get ready.' Grimm said.

'There's something else.' said Jade. 'I went through the data again and found some of the more confidential stuff in Wade's notes. There's some things about Stoppable you might want to know...' She fed the data to Grimm's communicator.

Grimm's eyes flickered as he read. 'Oh man,' he said, shaking his head. 'This is just _too_ good...'

'What is it?' said Rhonda.

'An opportunity,' said Grimm, 'to hit _three_ birds with one stone.'

­­

'Are you _sure_ about this, Grimm?' said Rhonda. 'I mean, we're gonna be relying on doofus-boy for it to work.'

'I know.' said Grimm. 'But Stoppable is more dangerous than he looks. According to this, he has Mystical Monkey Power. As good as I am at Tai Shing Pek Kwar, Ron Stoppable has the potential to defeat me.'

'No _way_!' said Rhonda.

'Way.' said Grimm. 'The catch is, he doesn't know how to unlock that potential. He just needs... _focus_. And we're going to dish it up for him on a silver platter.'

'You want to _show _him how to defeat you?' said Rhonda, baffled.

'No,' Grimm replied. 'I said we'd show him focus. And if we focus him correctly, he won't want to defeat us at all.'

Rhonda was even more puzzled, but said nothing.

Later, Kim handed a plastic bag with the Club Banana logo on it to a customer, who took it with a smile and headed towards the door. 'Thanks for shopping at Club Banana!' she said cheerily. But as soon as the customer was gone, she slumped and sighed.

Monique crooked her neck and looked at her. 'Girl, you look as worn out as last month's catalogue.'

'Sorry, Monique.' she said with a yawn. 'I've totally got a two-ended candle sitch going on.'

Monique waved her hand. 'You've been through this before. If you can hog-tie super-villains, you can handle real life no prob.'

'It's not just that.' Kim said. 'Just once I'd like the people in my life who are always heaping it on to start pulling their weight.'

'Why do I sense the word 'twins' will be coming up soon? said Monique with a smile.

'Twins!' Kim said, shaking her head. 'Not to mention the rents, and Bonnie, and homework, and...'

'Roooooon!' Monique waved, smiling as Ron stepped into Club Banana. He looked like he had come straight from work. He was still wearing his Smarty-Mart vest, and he looked immensely pleased about something.

'Good evening, ladies!' he said, with a flourishing bow. 'And may the Ronster say you are both looking razor-edge fine?'

'Someone's treading cloud 9.' said Monique, looking to Ron, then to Kim and back again with a sly gleam in her eyes.

Ron closed his eyes and adjusted the lapel of his vest. 'I attribute that to the fact that I'm in the same room as the most wonderful girl in all of Middleton and beyond,' he said unabashedly. 'But tonight there's even more to it than that!'

Kim looked up. 'What's the sitch?' she said.

Ron handed a piece of paper to Kim. It looked like a fancy coupon, embossed and printed on card stock with the Bueno Nacho logo stamped on the back. 'Check it out Kim! Found it in the mail today! Came right over to show it off!'

Kim read:

_'To Mr. Ronald Stoppable: Due to your faithful patronage of our fine establishment, you have been selected as a winner in the latest Bueno Nacho promotional campaign to our valued customers. You are hereby invited to participate in the Bueno Nacho 'There-Is-Such-A-Thing-As-A-Free-Lunch' giveaway._

_Simply present this certificate at the following address, which marks the location of our newest branch, and you will be treated to an all-you-can-eat feast, courtesy of Bueno Nacho Inc.'_

'Wow - congrats, Ron.' said Kim, handing him back the certificate.

Ron was beaming like the sun on a stick. 'Valued customer!' he said. 'Bueno Nacho knows the score!' He looked at Kim. 'The coupon didn't say I couldn't bring a guest.' he said. 'Whaddaya say, KP? Care to see exactly what it means when Ron Stoppable is given an all-you-can-eat ticket?'

Kim felt uncomfortable. 'Can't.' she said. 'I'm already on thin ice here after the last couple of missions.'

Ron slouched visibly. Poking his head out of Ron's pants pocket, Rufus mirrored his posture. 'Awwwww!' he squeaked.

'But don't let that stop you.' she said. We'll hook up at your place later.'

Ron looked up again, but smiled. 'Won't be the same without you, KP.' he said. 'Well, the _food_ probably won't taste any different, but still...'

'Have a blast, RS!' she said warmly, giving him a kiss on his cheek.

Ron's knees nearly buckled. 'Whaugh... oooh... uh... woah!' he said, staggering backwards. By the time he stopped wobbling, he was outside of the store. He waved at Kim through the plate glass display window, grinning sheepishly, and was soon out of sight.

Monique was still looking slyly at her. 'Girl, he has got it _bad_ for you!'

Kim smiled. Another customer was coming into the store. As she got ready to greet the newcomer, she muttered under her breath to Monique. 'Bad isn't the word I would use...'

Ron parked his scooter in front of a small building. He was still feeling warm fuzzies from the kiss, but that faded as he looked at his surroundings. The building was dark, dim and grungy looking, flanked by taller buildings on either side which formed dark alleys, making it seem even darker by comparison. The shadows of the surrounding structures cast black lines over the building while the sun slowly set. He looked at his coupon again, wondering if he got the address wrong. But he looked at the plate glass window in front of the building and saw a large, festive sign that read, "Coming soon to this location - Bueno Nacho!" He felt reassured, and followed an arrow sign down into one of the alleys.

'Yeesh, Rufus.' he said. 'I hope they aren't expecting much floor traffic without a serious remodel...'

'Mm-mm! Mmm-mm!' said Rufus, looking around from Ron's pocket.

It was even darker in the alley, but a buzzing light and another sign marked the entrance. Ron opened the door and went in. It looked like a Bueno Nacho outlet, if a bit stark. There was a counter with a backlit menu posted behind, and one chair in the middle of the room. A girl stood behind the counter, poised as if waiting to take an order. She was wearing a Bueno Nacho uniform, and also a sombrero which was pulled down a little so he couldn't see her face properly. But she smiled as Ron came in.

'Good evening!' said Ron, waving his arm and presenting his coupon with a flourish. 'Contest winner Ron Stoppable has arrived and is ready to claim his prize!' Rufus had his head poked expectantly out of Ron's pants pocket.

'Cheese! Num num numnumnum!' he squeaked eagerly, sniffing the air. Rufus paused, for he couldn't smell any cheese, nor smell any food being cooked or prepared at all.

'Hey there contest winner!' said the girl, her head still tilted slightly down. 'Congratulations on winning the first ever Bueno Nacho There-Is-Such-A-Thing-As-A-Free-Lunch-Giveaway!'

Rufus recognized the voice. He let out a little gasp and tugged at Ron's pants, trying to get his attention, but Ron was already looking up at the menu.

The girl continued speaking. 'I sure hope you're hungry, cause you're about to choke it down!' Then she slowly looked up and Ron felt an icy chill. Taking off her sombrero, the girl released a cascade of blonde hair and Rhonda Fatigable stared at him with a look of mischievous triumph.

'_Rhonda?_' said Ron, his voice rising to a squeal.

Ron heard the door slam behind him and saw Grimm Probable standing there, blocking the way out.

'Hello, Ron.' he said with a smirk. 'Been a while.' He stepped forward and Ron backed into the counter, then yelped and jumped forward as Rhonda came up behind him.

'Yeah!' she said, vaulting over the counter. 'You never call, you never write! I thought we had something special!'

Ron tried to make a break for the door, but Grimm and Rhonda each took him by an arm and he found himself flung back into the chair.

Rufus leaped out of Ron's pocket and started scurrying toward the doorway, but a small weasel leaped out and blocked his way with a chittering laugh. Rufus reared up as Rueful approached him. He was ready to make a dash around him when suddenly a blackness descended from above and with a metallic _clang_, Rhonda swept Rufus into a metal cage. There was a loud _click_ as a lock snapped to. Rufus scampered around inside the box for a moment, but the only way out was the now solidly locked door and some tiny air holes that he could barely fit a whisker through. 'Uh oh!' he said. He peered out through one of the air holes and saw Grimm and Rhonda closing in on Ron.

'So let me understand this,' Ron said feebly, 'There_ aren't _any Nacos here?'

'No.' said Grimm, smiling down at his cringing captive. 'But we did bring some just desserts.'

Kim walked by Ron's house, expecting to see him on the porch. But he wasn't there. She knocked on the door and Mrs. Stoppable answered. 'Oh, hello there Kim.' she said, her voice as matronly and kind as ever.

'Hi Mrs. Stoppable.' she said politely. 'Have you seen Ron?'

'No.' she said, shaking her head. 'He hasn't come back from Smarty Mart yet. We assumed he was out with you.'

Kim walked down the sidewalk towards her own house after saying good night. It wasn't like Ron not to show up without calling. Still, she thought, he _did_ have an all-you-can-eat ticket. She could imagine him, still gorfing out at Bueno Nacho, completely unaware of what time it was. She checked her watch. It was getting late, and she still had homework to do, and her chores. She continued on her way home, planning to call the next morning. She thought about calling Wade to see if he could track where Ron was, but changed her mind.

'Come on, Kim.' she said to herself. 'So not the drama.' She imagined how the call might go, with her asking Wade to locate Ron when she'd only seen him a couple of hours ago. She could practically hear Wade responding in a comically exaggerated voice - _'Aw - does Kimmie miss her Ron-Ron?'_ She did - but she continued on her way home, hoping he was having fun.

In another part of town on a hilltop, there was a massive warehouse, surrounded by a chain link fence. It was dark and abandoned, with signs saying 'keep out' posted here and there, hanging on the fence by wires.

Inside, Grimm and Rhonda thrust Ron into another chair. Shackles snapped up over his wrists and ankles, locking him in place. He struggled for a moment, then gasped and sat still. 'Look, what do you guys _want_?' he said. 'If it's about the thing with the electro-magnets, even you have to admit they worked pretty good...'

'Oh yeah, they worked.' said Grimm, a flicker of annoyance in his voice. 'But as to what we want? Even a pink sloth like _you_ must have figured it out by now.' said Grimm.

Ron sat up. 'How did you know I was a...'

'We know _everything_ about you, Ron Stoppable.' he said. 'We've made quite a study of you actually - just like your partner has. The difference between her and us is - we're being _honest_ with you about it.'

'You are _so _off the charts with me here.' said Ron, looking back and forth at them.

'Then it's time we explained a few things.' said Grimm. 'You've probably noticed that we have a lot of jamming equipment set up at the moment. It's so Wade can't track you.'

Ron stared at them, and looked around in confusion. There were indeed a lot of dishes, aerials and other gadgets set up. 'Track me? Dude, you are _so _out if it!'

Grimm smiled. 'That's right - they don't trust you enough to tell you. But I'm here tonight to give you the truth. Did you ever wonder, with as many times as you've been captured, as many solo missions as you've undergone, how exactly it is that Kim always finds you no matter where you go?'

Rhonda picked up a small scalpel and a pair of tweezers. Ron fidgeted in his seat as she walked behind him.

'Careful, Rhonda.' said Grimm. 'We don't want him hurt.'

Ron felt Rhonda push his head downward, he struggled for a moment, but yelped as he felt a sharp pain in the back of his neck. 'Ow!'

'At least not _much_.' Grimm smiled.

As quickly as the pain started though, it was over. Ron felt a bandage being slapped roughly onto his neck and Rhonda handed something to Grimm after wiping it with a square of gauze.

Grimm leaned down and held it in front of Ron's eyes. It was a small microchip about half the size of a postage stamp. 'Your so-called 'friend' Wade implanted this chip beneath your skin. He's had you bugged for years now - tracking you everywhere. Both he and Kim have been watching you day and night like a bug in a jar.'

Ron's mouth fell open in amazement. 'They... wouldn't do that.' he said, though his voice was full of uncertainty. 'Kim would have _told_ me!'

Grimm laughed. 'It's quite a thing, isn't it - to learn that all the talk about friendship and trust they've been spooning you your whole life has been nothing but a pack of lies? To know that after everything you've done for them - after all the sacrifices you've made, that they've just been using you and laughing at you behind your back! This chip has proved valuable for them, I don't doubt - but it's hard, cold proof that even the girl who says she loves you doesn't _believe_ in you!'

'No... _way_...' said Ron, but his voice was a quavering whisper.

'You may not like it,' Grimm said, 'But Rhonda and I have been more honest with you than Kim _ever_ has. I wanted you to know this - it'll make what you're about to do so much easier for you.'

'Yeah, what exactly am I supposed to be doing?' said Ron. 'You know, you two talk a good game, but you're the most boring villains I ever met!'

Rhonda grinned brightly. 'Boring, huh?' she said. 'Well stick around doofus-boy, cause we're gonna liven things up a little!'

Grimm had gone over to a cabinet. When he returned back to where Ron was manacled in his chair, Ron saw he was carrying something that looked like a helmet. With a shock, he recognized it.

'Uh dude, you do _not_ want to get that thing near me!' he said, looking up at the Attitudinator. 'Trust me, it doesn't suit me at all!'

'I know _exactly_ what it did to you.' he said. 'It once placed Drakken's evil in you. Since then, HenchCo has made some improvements. The Attitudinator can actually remove either good or evil and store it in detachable pods. We won't need to transfer evil into you from someone else - we just need to siphon out the good!'

Ron struggled again, but Rhonda held him fast while Grimm clamped the Attitudinator to his head. 'Hey, come on!' he said. 'This is wrong-sick!'

Rhonda leaned her face in so close they were almost nose to nose. 'So does that make it _sirong_, or _wrick_?' she said with a wicked grin.

'Kim!' he yelled her name instinctively, even though he knew she was nowhere near. He thought briefly that maybe the chip wasn't such a bad idea, but at the moment it was no help to him.

Grimm turned on the helmet. Ron went stiff and began shuddering in the chair, a look of shock and fear on his face. On the right side of the Attitudinator, a blue light was flashing, and a bright red light flashed on the left side.

Ron kept trembling in the chair. 'Feet... itchy...' he said, his voice strained and high pitched.

Grimm adjusted the controls, and the blue light seemed to flow into a glass capsule on the side of the helmet and the blue light on the helmet itself flickered and went out. Grimm popped the glowing blue pod from it's housing and handed it to Rhonda.

'Be careful with that.' he said. 'We may need it later.' He turned back to Ron, who was slouched and gasping in the chair. Grimm turned off the Attitudinator and removed it, placing it back in the cabinet.

Rhonda looked at him. 'So...' she said. 'How long before we know if it worked?'

Grimm shook his head. 'Not long I think.' he said. 'It took a while to kick in last time, according to the mission notes that Jade hacked. But it did happen. Leave him chained up for now.'

'How will we know he's not faking?'

Grimm smiled. 'Keep an eye out to see if his skin turns blue.'

Coming Soon:

Chapter 3: Looking For My Missing Peace


	3. Chapter 3 Searching For My Missing Peace

The Return Of Zorpox

Chapter 3

Kim woke up the next morning, more or less re-energized. She'd managed to finish her homework and her chores and felt a bit less harassed after the night's sleep. Even her lingering animosity towards Jim and Tim was ebbing out.

'Don't forget it's your turn for kitchen duty tonight!' said her mother as Kim made her way to the sidewalk.

'My dishpan hands are raring!' she said cheerily as she stepped out the door. Jim and Tim were already cycling down the street, their book bags on their shoulders. Kim waited at the curb, looking at her watch. She glanced up and down the street, expecting to see Ron's scooter putting along with Ron hunched behind the handlebars. But he was nowhere to be seen.

Several minutes passed, and Kim felt a tingle of worry. She used her Kimmunicator to dial Ron's home number. A female voice answered. 'Hello?' Kim recognized the voice of Ron's mother.

'Mrs. Stoppable?' she asked.

'Oh, Kim!' she answered, her voice sounding anxious. 'Thank goodness it's you! Have you seen Ron this morning?'

Kim felt the cold worry growing stronger. 'No - I was just calling to ask if you knew where he was...'

'He never came home last night!' Mrs. Stoppable said, sounding frightened now. 'And I can't find Rufus either.'

Kim went business-like. 'Calm down, Mrs. Stoppable,' she said. 'I'm totally on it. When I find him, I'll get back to you.'

She said good-bye to Ron's mother and was soon hitting a well-worn speed dial. 'Wade!' she said crisply. 'Ron hasn't come to pick me up for school today, and his Mom says he's been gone since last night.'

'Aw...' he said, smiling. 'Does Kimmie miss her Ron-R...'

'Note serious face, Wade!' she said, pointing to her knitted brows. 'I need to know where he is!'

'Ok.' he said, dropping his joking voice. 'What do you want me to do?'

'Well, ethics aside...' she said, looking uncomfortable, '...you've still got him chipped, right?'

'Give me five seconds and I'll give you a location!' he said, twitching his fingers and starting to type. After a few seconds though, his face went from a relaxed smile to a look of confusion, and then to a puzzled frown.

Kim looked anxiously at him. 'Tell me you know where he is and you're just trying to decide one of several different ways to tell me how to get there.' she said.

'This is mega-weird, Kim.' he said, turning in his chair and glancing from monitor to monitor. 'I'm not getting any signal at all.'

Kim felt her grip tightening around the Kimmunicator. 'Ok,' she said. 'We'll do it the old-fashioned way. Last time I saw him was yesterday evening at Club Banana.'

'Did he say where he was going?' Wade said, looking away from the monitors and at her directly.

Kim thought, and remembered. 'He won some kind of Bueno Nacho contest for a free dinner, and he was going to their newest branch to collect on it.'

'I'm on it.' Wade said. 'I'll get back with you as soon as I can.'

Kim stood by the curb, turning off the Kimmunicator. She looked up and down the street again, still hoping to see him, but there was only the normal early-morning traffic. She sighed and started making her way down the street. Until Wade got back with more information, there was nothing she could do except go to school and search for him there. She hoped he was all right - and thought grimly that if he was OK, she was going to slug him for getting her all worried.

Grimm was taking in boxes of various equipment that Jade had sent along. The night had passed slowly and Rhonda had gotten up from sleeping on the table, stretching and nursing a stiff shoulder and back.

She stared at Ron as he sat shackled in the chair. 'Hey Grimm!' she chirped. 'Check this out!' Grimm stepped over to her side. In his chair, Ron sat with his brow creased in fury and his fists were clenched. His skin was a livid blue. 'What d'you think?' said Rhonda with a smile. 'Should we leave him in the oven a little longer?'

'No,' said Grimm. 'I think he's just about done.' He stepped forward and Ron gritted his teeth, his eyes flicking onto him.

'You can't do this to me!' Ron hissed. His voice was now higher, and had a grating quality to it. 'No one imprisons me! No one!'

'My apologies.' said Grimm, kneeling down in front of the chair. 'We just wanted to make sure you got here safely. If you're ready, we'll let you go. You have a project that was unduly interrupted.'

'Yes...' said Ron. 'I remember! I nearly had the world's supply of Nacos in my grasp! But I was foiled... by Kim Possible!' As he said the name, his face hardened and he stiffened in the chair.

'You're free now to pick up where you left off.' said Grimm. 'And any help we can give you - just say the word.'

'What's _your_ stake in this?' said Ron, glaring suspiciously and gritting his teeth.

'I'm all about helping people I think have been cruelly wronged.' he said. 'You created the Naco, but Bueno Nacho gave you only one royalty check. They've still been getting rich off your creation. I want to help restore what's rightfully yours. Just think of us as... your sidekicks.'

Grimm released the clamps on the chair. Ron slowly stood up, twitching his now free hands. Grimm made a small bow to him. 'I've also prepared a change of clothes if you feel the need.' He gestured to a small alcove, which lit up.

Ron's eyes gleamed. 'Ooooh!' he said. 'Me likey!'

Kim walked the halls of Middleton High, her eyes constantly snapping here and there, trying to catch a glimpse of a familair blonde head. She could see the marquee outside, which read in mis-matched letters, "Lost and Found Being Cleaned out Today". She visited Ron's locker, checked all the classes he was taking, and had stared with growing concern at the empty space in the parking lot where he normally locked his scooter. She even checked with Mr. Barkin to see if he was chewing Ron out or putting him in detention.

'Have any of you guys seen Ron?' she said, seeing the cheer squad chatting idly in the halls.

Bonnie smirked. 'What makes you think _we've_ seen your GB...'

'_Can_ it, Bonnie!' Kim broke in, 'He's been missing since last night! If you know where he is, _spill_ it!' she was in no mood for Bonnie's attitude, and realized just as she ended her sentence how shrill she sounded.

Bonnie looked stunned by Kim's anger and simply stood there, her normally dour face suddenly leached of all expression. Tara piped up when the silence stretched out. 'We haven't seen him yet this morning, Kim.' she said timidly. 'Is he really missing?'

'I'm trying to find out.' she said, lowering her voice. 'If any of you see him, please - beep me.'

'Yeah,' said Bonnie simply. Kim turned and left.

Rhonda nearly laughed out loud when Ron stepped out of the side room. He was wearing a purple-black jumpsuit with a gold belt. Purple gloves and boots were on his hands and feet, the ends of them tipped in black. A large square on his chest had a multi-colored pattern that formed a stylized "Z". A billowing cape with red lining was around his shoulders with a high-backed collar. He wore a pair of red goggles and a bizarre hat that looked more like a purple beanie than anything else.

'Ah!' Ron said, twitching his hands and inspecting himself. 'Much better! I see you made a few alterations...'

Grimm smiled faintly. 'I figured the underpants were less dignified than you would have liked.'

'M'eh!' said Ron, waving dismissively. 'Either way's good! Now, to business! I want to throw the world into such chaos that they'll surrender.' he said, clasping his hands together. 'What are our assets?'

Grimm looked at him and answered. 'Yourself.' he said first. 'Me, Rhonda and Rueful. And everything in this warehouse.'

Ron grimaced. He glanced around the warehouse, looking like he was sizing things up. There was a lot of scrap metal lying in piles here and there, several large wooden crates, and a control console with a set of raised stairs. 'Pfffft!' he said. 'Well, I _do_ love a challenge! The world thought they were safe from me but I'll show _them_! I'm going to spread evil from this location until they come crawling for mercy!' he clenched his fist and pounded it into his palm repeatedly, laughing and cackling as if he did indeed have the globe in his hand and was mashing it to powder.

'Just tell us what you want and we're on it.' said Grimm. 'But if I might advise you, we should be cautious at the start. After all, there are only three of us.'

'Then we'll need more!' said Ron, grinning and holding his cape in front of him like a vampire. 'A _lot_ more!' He clapped a hand to his forehead, his mouth opening wide and smiling. 'Yes... _that's_ an idea!' He looked around. 'I should be able to manage things with what you've got here,' he said. 'But I'll need proper tools!'

'Actually,' said Grimm. 'I think you'll find there's only one tool you need.'

'And what might that be?' said Ron, whirling his cape.

Grimm smiled, the memory of the previous days flashing through his head.

_'Your father and I were worried about you - you were out so late last night.' his mother called from the kitchen._

_'Sorry Mom, I got held up on a job from my website.'_

_'Well, how did it go, dear?'_

_The previous night, outside the Yamanouchi school, the students and Sensei had been sleeping when suddenly they were awakened by a thunderous ringing. Everyone had come outside to see a figure dressed in black using a staff to hammer the large gong in the center of the main training area. _

_They stared at the figure and Sensei stepped forward, his voice raised over the din. 'Who are you, and why are you disturbing the slumber of my students?'_

_The figure dropped the staff and turned to him. It looked like a girl, though her face was covered with a mask. Her eyes were visible and Sensei could tell she was nervous about something, but fiercely determined._

_'I am the all-powerful... uh... Ninjella!' she yelled. Even the guards around the walls of the school were looking down into the courtyard, staring at this bizarre disruption. 'I have come to challenge the best student in your pathetic school to a contest to see whose Kung-Fu is best!'_

_Sensei stared at her. 'Ninjella?' he said, raising an eyebrow._

_'Yeah...' said the girl, somehow looking embarrassed even behind her mask. 'That's what I said, and I stand by it! So how about it, gramps? Do you accept my challenge or will you lick my boots in shameful surrender?'_

_'Master!' Yori said, bowing. 'Allow me to defend the honor of the Yamanouchi School!'_

_Sensei nodded slightly, and Yori strode forward to stand in front of Ninjella. Ninjella raised her voice in a series of loud and grating screeches, standing in an amatuerish crane stance. Yori approached her warily, but with an expression of curious disbelief._

_'You think a scrawny wimp like you can defeat the all-powerful Ninjella?' she said, striking various poses. 'I know how to deal with the likes of you!' She brought her hands in front of her in a series of complicated gestures, then screamed, 'Shadow Clone juitsu!!!'_

_Everyone paused, staring at Ninjella, who remained still after shouting. For a few seconds, all was quiet, but nothing seemed to happen._

_Ninjella looked at her hands. 'Oh wait..' she said. 'I forgot - that's not real.'_

_Then she let out a loud 'Whoof!' as Yori leaped into her with a flying kick. Ninjella flew back into the gong which sent a loud booming tone through the entire school. Several students chuckled as Ninjella rose to her feet. She looked up past Yori and saw a shadowy figure slip over the wall leading out of the school._

_At once, she started posing and screeching energetically again. 'You have proven yourselves worthy opponents to the all-powerful Ninjella! When I return, I will defeat you all and lay your school in ruins! I am Ninjella! I have spoken!' She reached into her vest and took something out, throwing it down on the ground in front of her with a flash of light and a loud bang._

_When they finished blinking, she was no longer there. But off to the side, they heard a squeal and saw she had tripped over a rock while running towards the gate. She scrambled up and ran at top speed, disappearing into the night shadows. 'Ninjella rules!' came her last fading shout._

_Everyone stared in silence. Finally Yori spoke. 'That... was 'whack'.' she said softly._

_Sensei tugged thoughtfully at his beard. 'Yes,' he said. 'It was indeed 'whack'. I suspect there is more to this than meets the eye.'_

_Later, Rhonda and Grimm sat in the back of a hypersonic jet plane speeding back to the States._

_'Thanks for the lift, Electronique.' said Grimm, shouting up toward the cockpit._

_'No problem!' came a voice calling back to him. 'With these components you stole for me, I can launch my scheme against Go City! Hope your plan goes well, handsome!'_

_Rhonda growled, then coughed and wheezed, clutching at her stomach._

_'Relax.' said Grimm. 'You had a busy night.'_

_'I wouldn't take a boot in the gut for anyone but you, Grimm.' she said. _

_'I'm proud of you.' he said. 'But... Ninjella?'_

_Rhonda shrugged. 'How many decent ninja-themed girl names are there? So why did you want me to do my humiliation slam-dance in front of the whole school?'_

_Grimm took a black case from under the seat and opened it. 'So I could sneak in and nab this.' He opened the case, revealing a shining sword._

_Rhonda put up her 'whatever' face. 'You know you can get those on Ebay for like fifteen bucks, right?' she said._

_'Not this one. It's called the Lotus Blade. With it, we're gonna be ten times more rockin' than ever!' He laid his hand on it and lifted it up. Rhonda looked at him curiously, because it looked like he was concentrating, but just as with her shadow clone act, nothing was happening. After a few seconds, Grimm opened his eyes and he was frowning._

_Rhonda stared in silence for a moment. 'You can get THAT on Ebay for free.' she said at last._

_Grimm was staring at the inside of the case. Inside on the lining was a tracery of graceful Japanese letters, as well as a brush diagram of what looked like a monkey..._

_In the Yamanouchi school, Master Sensei entered his meditation chamber not long after Ninjella had fled. All the students were accounted for and had been sent back to their rest. Everything seemed to be in place, but somehow his mind was ill at ease. It was a ninja's first instinct to see through deception, and something simply did not seem right._

_He checked the locked vault containing all the schools funds and nothing was missing. None of the library's ancient scrolls or texts were missing either. He found no evidence that anyone had tampered with anything. It was not until he checked the case containing the Lotus Blade that he noticed something wrong. The case looked the same, but it seemed newer. Opening the case, he saw a sword of similar weight and shape. But it was plainly not the Lotus Blade._

_The Yamanouchi students heard the gong ringing for the second time that night and came out to the courtyard, finding that this time it was Sensei summoning them. His face looked grave. Yori looked up at him. 'Master!' she said, her voice high and concerned. What has happened? Has Ninjella returned?'_

_Sensei frowned. 'We must find this Ninjella at once.' he said. 'We have been decieved.'_

_Grimm paused before calling back to the kitchen in his house the next morning. 'Mixed bag.' he said to his mother. Under his arm he held the case containing the Lotus Blade - a weapon which he now knew was useless to him. _

_'Well, you got a package last evening.' his mother called. 'I went ahead and put it in your room.' Grimm put the matter of the Lotus Blade to the back of his mind. If the package was what he was expecting, he had other matters to consider. _

Grimm looked at Ron and opened one of the packages he had been taking in earlier. Inside were various parts, circuits, and also a black case. He laid it before Ron on the table. 'I know that Mystical Monkey Power flows within you.' he said, 'Use it - and this.' He opened the case and the Lotus Blade gleamed brightly. 'Unless you think it's too 'last season' for you.'

Ron's eyes, which had already been practically gleaming with evil, lit up even further and he grinned from ear to ear. 'Ah!' he said. 'Ronakauh comes early this year!' He laid his hand on the hilt of the Lotus Blade and raised it up.

Kim attended her first couple of classes, but didn't take in a word of what the teachers were saying. She had her Kimmunicator out on the desk, ready to pick it up the instant Wade called. But the Kimmunicator remained agonizingly silent. She fought back the urge to call him, knowing that he worked best when he wasn't being interrupted.

Between classes, she went to her locker, and was relieved when the monitor inside it blipped on, showing Wade's face. 'So hoping for good news.' Kim said. But Wade was frowning.

'Sorry, Kim.' he said, shaking his head. 'I haven't found him - but I've got wierdness coming out my ears. You say Ron won some kind of contest for Bueno Nacho?'

'That's what he said.' Kim answered.

Wade frowned still deeper. 'I've gone through the Bueno Nacho company website and hacked into their files.' he said. They aren't having _any_ promotional campaigns in Middleton this week beyond the normal sales, and there wasn't anything at all about a free lunch giveaway.'

'Twelve-point-oh weird.' said Kim.

'And that's not all,' Wade said. 'There aren't any new restaurants scheduled for construction in Middleton.'

'Liking this less and less!' Kim said.

'I don't suppose you saw the address where Ron said he was going?' Wade said.

Kim bit her lip. As busy as she had been that night, she hadn't even thought to look at the address. It flashed through her head only as a blurry line on the contest coupon. 'Didn't think to read it.' she admitted.

'I'll keep looking then.' Wade said. 'I'll see if anyone has rented or bought any property in town recently.' He paused, looking at Kim. 'Don't worry. We'll find him.'

'Thanks, Wade.' she said quietly.

Rhonda sat, tapping her foot on the concrete floor of the warehouse. Ron was approaching the array of boxes on the other side of the building. 'The Lotus Blade.' she said. 'You made such a big deal out of getting it, but then you just gave up on it.'

'That's because I learned I can't use it.' he answered. 'Only someone with Mystical Monkey Power can use it. When I saw the notes Jade hacked, I had her send it out with all the other stuff.'

'Will it be worth it?' she said.

Ron raised the Lotus Blade, and with a flash, the gleaming blade changed into a crowbar which he used to start prying crates open.

'Woah!' Rhonda said. 'So not simple tricks and nonsense!'

Grimm smiled quietly as the Lotus Blade changed back into a sword in Ron's hand. 'Hi-ho, hi-ho!' said Ron. 'It's off to work I go!'

A few hours later, Rhonda stared in amazement as Ron worked with almost manic energy. He held the Lotus Blade in his hand, which kept shifting from form to form as he labored. First it was a wrench, then a screwdriver, then a pair of pliers, it even became an arc-welder in his grasp. He stayed at the table, and occasionally, he would point the Lotus Blade to some other part of the warehouse and it would snake out like a glistening metallic arm, snatching various parts and objects from here and there before snapping back to him and becoming something else.

'Pretty cool.' she said. 'But do we just... let him do whatever he wants?' said Rhonda, staring at him. 'Sounds freaky-wrong to me.'

'Trust me.' said Grimm. 'From everything I've studied, the best thing we can do is stay out of his way, let him do whatever he's planning, and then pretend not to be surprised when he does it.' He stared at the exposed components and circuitry of a large machine which was slowly, but steadily taking shape in the center of the warehouse.

Rhonda took his hand and squeezed it. 'But if he's evil now - what's to stop him from double-crossing us?'

Grimm nodded. 'Trust - but verify.' he said. 'As long as we make it plain that we want nothing except to serve him, and don't double-cross _him_, we'll be safe - more or less.'

Off to the side, his cage locked inside another heavier cage, Rufus gripped the metal bars of his prison, staring out and groaning. He'd been given a bowl of water and a plate of food, but other than that, he was completely helpless. He glanced through the bars up towards one of the grimy windows in the warehouse, through which rays of yellow sunlight were streaming down. 'Kim!' he said softly, wondering where she was.

Kim had rarely felt so frantic. She had turned over practice to Bonnie with hardly a thought to it. Bonnie had not said a word to Kim since she had blown up in the hallway earlier, not even after taking the lead in practice while Kim paced on the sidelines, constantly picking up her Kimmunicator and running a hand through her hair. As Bonnie hardly ever treated Kim in any way that might be considered polite, Kim supposed this was her way of saying she understood how worried she was.

On the way home, Wade called in again. 'No one's rented our bought any property this week for restaurant construction or anything else.' he said. 'That just tells me they might be crashing someplace without paying. I've shifted my search to any reports of unauthorized entries, and I'm also keeping tabs on police communications. If there's even a peep of anything, I'll be all over it.'

'Not that I don't believe you, Wade,' said Kim, shaking her head. 'But I want my feet on the ground for this one.'

'Thought you might say that.' said Wade with a faint smile. 'Gear up at home. We'll split our surviellance and start sweeping the whole city.' The screen blipped out.

Once home, Kim shot straight upstairs. She was glad that her brothers weren't in her room tearing things apart again. One less thing to worry about. She knew she'd have to pay later on when she missed dishwashing duty, and she reflected that missing work might get her written up. But she thought of Ron and pushed it all to the back of her mind.

_'Ron, where are you?'_ she thought.

Coming Soon:

Chapter 4: Old Friends Who Just Met


	4. Chapter 4 Old Friends Who Just Met

The Return of Zorpox

Chapter 4

Grimm was impressed. The machine Ron was building was already large, towering up toward the high ceiling. A network of rails and gantries was also spreading out like a spider web around the machine, and Ron dashed here and there, fixing this, adjusting that, adding more components and more support structure as he flitted back and forth.

Finally, Ron jumped from the top and Grimm saw the Lotus Blade extend down like a pole with a clawed foot, which thudded onto the ground from high above. It gradually shortened until Ron landed softly on the floor, turning to look up at his machine. At the top, a wide circle of metal was perched, looking somewhat like a giant bubble wand. It was large enough for a fully grown man to stand with his arms and legs outstretched within the circle, and most of the wiring and other components led towards it.

Rhonda came up, standing by Grimm's side and staring. 'So, does it have a name or do we just call it 'the thing-a-ma-bob?' she said.

Rueful poked out of Rhonda's pack and draped his paws over her shoulder, staring and saying 'Ooooooooooh!'

'Behold!' Ron screeched, sheathing the Lotus Blade and throwing up his arms dramatically. 'The Mega Synaptic Transducer!'

'Do all your inventions have "Mega" in their names?' said Grimm, frowning slightly.

'Of course!' Ron said, his voice high and grating. 'The 'mega' makes it sound cool!'

'So what does it _do_?' said Rhonda.

'Oh never you mind,' said Ron, waving his hand dismissively. 'There are still plenty of things to do before we fire up this baby!'

'Such as?' said Grimm.

'I think it's time we clued in our dear Ms. Possible.' said Ron, staring up at the machine. He turned to Grimm. 'Knowing her, she'll probably get a bit shirty about the whole thing, so I'd better explain it myself. I'll need someone to bring her for a meeting. Would you care to do the honors?'

Grimm smiled. 'I was hoping you'd ask.'

Mrs. Possible looked up the stairwell. Kim had come home from school without saying a word, and had gone straight up to her room. She could hear her rattling around upstairs, but had no idea what she was up to. Her curiosity was getting the best of her and she was just about to go up and ask what was bothering her daughter when she heard a knock. She stepped into the living room landing and opened the front door. There was a young man standing on the porch, dressed in some kind of uniform. His boyishly handsome face was smiling and he tipped his hat to her as she looked at him.

'Good evening.' he said, his voice kindly and polite. 'You must be the lovely Mrs. Possible. Would you please inform your daughter, Kimberly Ann, that her chauffeur has arrived to escort her to an enchanted evening with one Ron Stoppable?'

Mrs. Possible smiled warmly. 'Oh isn't that sweet!' she said. 'Come on in, I'll call her down.'

Kim was gathering things in her room, getting ready to leave. She'd explained things to Monique and was prepared to spend every moment she could spare in tracking Ron down. She checked in with Wade, and was just about to step out into the hall when she heard her mother's voice echo from downstairs.

'Kim! Ron sent a limo driver to pick you up.' she said, her voice sounding sly and amused. 'He said something about an evening of enchantment!'

Kim felt an intense thrill of relief. She glanced out of the window and saw a shiny black limousine parked on the roadside in front of the house. Ron wasn't missing after all - he had simply been planning some elaborate and probably goofy date. She had some trepidation, wondering what he had in store, but was looking forward to it all the same. She still wondered where he had been all day, adding it to a list of questions to ask once she saw him.

She ran to the stairs, but before she was half way down, the relief she had been feeling withered into an ashen dread. There, standing in her living room as bold as brass, was Grimm Probable, his insolent smirk hitched in place. He was dressed like a chauffeur, complete with a cap, and as she came to a stop at the bottom of the stairs, he smiled and nodded.

'Good evening Ms. Possible.' he said, his voice lit with amusement and edged with menace. 'Ron Stoppable is most anxious to see you.'

Kim had been on the verge of leaping at him with a roundhouse kick, but at Grimm's words, she froze and fought hard to stay calm. The threat was plain in his voice - she knew that he had Ron and that he meant for her to keep quiet about it.

A few seconds passed in silence. Mrs. Possible wasn't sure why neither of them were saying anything, but she didn't pick up on the tension that had suddenly flared into the room. 'Well, have fun with Ron, Kim.' she said. 'Be sure and come back before curfew!'

'Not to worry, Mrs. Possible.' Grimm said, bowing. 'We're perfectly aware of Kim's... _limitations_.' he gestured toward the front door, which he was holding open for Kim, gazing at her expectantly.

Kim said nothing as Grimm escorted her to the limo. She hesitated when Grimm opened the passenger door and motioned her to get in. Grimm stared at her coldly as she stood resolutely outside the car, her arms folded.

'I can wait here all day, Kim.' he said. 'But I don't think Ron can.'

Kim got in and as Grimm circled the limo to get in the driver's seat, Kim was frantically pushing the buttons on her Kimmunicator, trying to reach Wade. The Kimmunicator sputtered and beeped, but the reassuring view of Wade's face did not appear.

The limo tilted as Grimm got in, adjusting the rear-view mirror and starting the engine. 'Don't bother calling your hacker friend.' he said, signaling as the car started moving down the street. 'We've arranged for us to have some private time.' Kim glared at him. The limo drove on, entering downtown traffic.

Kim stayed silent as long as she could. She became aware that she was clenching her fists so hard that she was nearly breaking the skin in her palms with her fingernails. 'If you've hurt Ron...' she started, but Grimm cut her off.

'So the drama.' he said. 'There's no need to drag out the 'I swear I'll make you pay' routine Kim Possible. I assure you Ron is in perfect health.'

'I don't believe you.' Kim hissed.

Grimm twitched his head, glancing back at Kim through the rear-view mirror. 'I was telling the truth when I said he wanted to see you Kim. This was actually his idea.'

Kim bit her lip. Grimm seemed to be enjoying this way too much, but as far as she could tell, there was no lie in his voice. Her whole body was tensed like a spring. Grimm seemed to sense it.

'Calm down.' he said with a smirk. 'If you're about to demand that I take you to him, as usual, I'm way ahead of you.'

It wasn't long before the limo parked in front of a small building. Grimm got out and opened the door for Kim, motioning her out with a bow. After leading her down an alley to a side entrance, he gestured to a door. 'He's waiting.' he said simply.

Kim kept her eyes warily on Grimm. But Grimm seemed relaxed, even casual. She stepped toward the door and walked in. She saw the place had been made up rather shoddily to resemble a Bueno Nacho outlet. But there was only one chair in the middle of the room, a swivel chair in which a figure was seated in half-light with his back turned.

'Greetings, Kimberly Ann Possible!'

Kim shuddered. It was definitely Ron's voice - but it seemed cold, manic, and somehow familiar...

The chair swiveled around Ron stared out at her, his fingers tented in front of him. Kim blanched as she saw he was dressed in a black outfit with a "Z" on his chest. He wore red goggles and a comical looking beanie, but the last thing Kim felt like doing was laughing as she saw his skin was tinged with a bluish hue.

'No...' she whispered.

From off to the side, a camera flashed. 'Oooh that was _great_!' said Rhonda, stepping out from behind the counter. 'Come on pom-pon - do it again!'

'Now, now,' said Ron, grinning and waving his hand toward Rhonda. 'Play nice my dear, after all Ms. Possible is my guest!'

Kim stared in shock as Grimm and Rhonda took places behind Ron, standing beside his chair like a pair of smiling bookends. 'Whatever you say, _boss_.' said Grimm.

''You're the top dog - woof woof woof!' shouted Rhonda, punching her fist in the air. Ron simply sat with a satisfied smirk on his face.

Kim glared furiously at Grimm. All the missing pieces thudded into place in her mind. Ron's disappearance, and what it meant. 'Turn him back!' she said, 'Now!!'

'Hey! _Hey_!' said Ron, frowning. 'I'm _still_ here Kim Possible! Why not talk to me directly? Ask me what _I_ want?'

'Ron,' she said imploringly. 'You're not _yourself_. They did something to you - made you into something you're not! Come with me! We can change you back...' She held out her hand to him, a dull ache of loss throbbing inside her.

'No, don't think so.' said Ron, his toothy smile returning. 'There's a world full of Nacos out there that still owes me _big time_! And I'm gonna give it such a _pinch_!!'

'Ron, _please_!'

'I called you here as a courtesy, Kimberly Ann.' he said, ignoring her. 'After all, what's a villainous plot without a do-gooder trying to get in the way? _Boring_, that's what!' He took a small box wrapped in a shiny red ribbon and tossed it to her. 'Happy birthday to _you_!' he said, gesturing dramatically.

'What is this?' Kim asked.

'I told you - a _courtesy_.' Ron sneered. 'You'll want to keep that close, believin' you me!' He paused for a moment, taking a deep breath, then he sat back, looking relaxed. 'Well, that's it. Door's behind you, don't let it hit you on the way out!'

Kim tensed up. 'I'm not leaving without you, Ron.' she said.

'Oooooh, get a load of Ms. I-Can-Do-Anything!' Rhonda squeaked mockingly. 'Thinks she's gonna take us on all by herself!'

'If I have to.' Kim said, her voice low and dangerous.

Grimm and Rhonda started around the chair but Ron held up his hands. 'Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah!' he said, gesturing them back. 'No need for the two of you to git all rowdy! We all know that she won't be satisfied until she's tried to take me by force!' Grimm and Rhonda stepped back. Ron stood up and glared, his smile now thin and tight. 'Well Kimberly Ann - I believe you said something about not leaving without me?'

'Sorry Ron,' said Kim. 'You'll thank me later!' She leaped forward with a flying kick and was wondering how much force she dared to put into it when she saw Ron twitch his cape aside and take out a gleaming sword from his belt.

In a sundered instant, the blade changed into a tendril of metal that shot toward Kim. She gasped, shifting her stance to a forward roll. Whatever it was that Ron was using, it altered it's course, twisting and following her roll. Kim landed and cartwheeled to the side, narrowly avoiding the metal, which snaked after her like a tentacle. She went into a series of flips and jumps and finally landed a few feet in front of Ron. With a cry, she charged at him.

But she suddenly felt something clamp around her ankle and lurched as she was brought to a stop in mid-leap. Looking back she saw a hand had formed at the end of whatever it was that Ron was holding, and it was closed fast on her leg. She struggled, hanging in mid-air and grappling with the hand.

'_Thank_ you!' Ron said in a sing-song voice.

The metal cable whipped backwards. Kim was pulled back with a sudden jerk and thrown onto the floor. She stared at Ron in amazement.

'Neat, huh?' he said. In a flash, the sword had reappeared in Ron's hand. 'You've heard about the Lotus Blade, but you haven't seen it in action yet. Impressed?'

Kim rose to her feet and charged at him again. She screamed, putting all her energy into her kick, and flew at him. But the Lotus Blade transformed in the blink of an eye into a gleaming shield and Kim heard a loud _clunk_ as her kick was absorbed harmlessly. She rolled and landed fair on her feet. But from the hilt of the Lotus Blade, she saw four tendrils whipping towards her. Each arm and leg was quickly grasped in a clawed hand. Kim was held immobile and she grunted with the effort of trying to break free.

Behind Ron, Grimm and Rhonda were clapping their hands. 'Drama _and_ comedy!' said Rhonda. 'Whatta performer!'

With a wicked grin, Ron bowed to Grimm and Rhonda, then thrust out his arm. Kim found herself catapulted out the door, landing in the alley, trash cans rattling around her.

'Farewell, Kim Possible!' came Ron's shout, echoing through the door. 'The next time we meet, I hope you'll prove better sport!' The box Ron had given her came spiraling out the door, landing next to her with a thud. 'Booyah-_hahahahaaaaaaaaaa!!!!'_

Kim rose up, panting, and dashed back into the building, but they were gone.

Kim did something she had never done before and hailed a cab. She gave the driver her address and was soon heading back home. 'Wade!' she said, taking out her Kimmunicator. 'I found Ron!'

'That's great Kim!' he said, looking relieved.

'So _isn't_!' she broke in. 'Team Probable is _here_ - in Middleton! And they used an Attitudinator on Ron!'

Wade's eyes flew wide open. 'You mean Ron is...'

Kim nodded. 'I just got my butt royally handed to me by Zorpox. And it looks like Team Probable is working _for_ him!'

'Oh _man_,' said Wade. 'Someone has been ghosting my network for the last couple of days. I think it's Jade.'

Kim nodded again. 'We need to find out what they're up to - _fast_!'

'I could use a starting point.' Wade said, poised over his keyboard.

Kim glanced at the ribbon-wrapped box Ron had given her. She tugged at the ribbon and opened the package. It looked like a medical bracelet, but it had a rectangular plastic pad on top full of circuitry. 'What do you make of this?' She held it in front of the Kimmunicator scanner, which sent out a green light that slid up the bracelet, and then from side to side with an electronic whirring sound.

'Analyzing.' he said. He looked at his monitors. 'Woah.' he said. 'I've never seen anything like _this_ before!'

'Can you tell what it's for?' she said. Her heart was beating rapidly, a sensation of anxiety building within her. If Ron moved as quickly now has he had the last time, she guessed they didn't have very long to figure out a plan.

'I'll need some time...' he said, shaking his head. 'It looks like it uses similar technology as the Attitudinator, but it's heavily modified...'

'Keep me posted!' Kim said. They were drawing near her house now, and she fiddled with the change in her pockets, getting ready to pay the driver. 'I think I'll change into something more... _flexible_.'

Ron re-entered the warehouse. 'Time to get it _on_!' he cackled. 'And by _it_ I mean _that_,' he said, pointing to the Mega Synaptic Transducer. 'And by _on, _I mean _on_!' He flipped open one of the compartments on his belt, revealing a number of buttons and controls. He hit a larger red button, and suddenly the floor of the warehouse rumbled.

Around the Mega Synaptic Transducer, the floor was rolling away on either side. A large panel was also sliding back in the roof, and the Transducer began to slowly rise. Four large support struts unfolded, looking like colossal spider legs. The Mega Synaptic Transducer continued to rise up, showing that it had even more components and bulk below the floor than it had above ground.

Rhonda's mouth fell open. 'When did you _do_ all this?' she squeaked.

'Oh, I threw it together while you were powdering your nose.' Ron said casually.

The support struts locked into place with rolling metallic booms as the Mega Synaptic Transducer halted, towering above the level of the warehouse roof. Ron hit another button and lights flickered on all across the vast bulk of the machine. It began to whirr, louder and louder. Upper segments of the machine began to slowly revolve, gaining speed. A glowing halo surmounted the circle of metal atop the Mega Synaptic Transducer, and began to suffuse into the circle itself. Two shades of color were discernable - blue and red. Ron smiled and went to the table where a number of parts and equipment still lay.

'Kim Possible will be here eventually, and I want to have a suitable welcome prepared!' he said. 'Oh by the way, while I was working I made this for you.' He gestured to a bundle lying on the table. 'Trust me, when she gets here, you'll find it useful.'

Grimm picked up the bundle, which unfurled, showing a black outfit with reddish-orange bands.

'Ooooh, stylin'!' said Rhonda. 'Can't wait to see you in it!' she said, smirking at Grimm. 'Don't I get one?'

'Oh no,' said Ron, gesturing absent-mindedly while still welding circuits and other material to the mass of parts and metal on the table. 'I've made some other special toys for you, my dear!' He tossed a thick bracelet over his shoulder, which Rhonda caught. 'Put it on!' he said without looking back at her. 'It's a remote control. Instructions are on the sticky.'

Rhonda pulled a yellow square of paper off the bracelet and began to read. After a moment, she clamped the bracelet on her left wrist with a wicked grin. 'Oh man,' she chirped. 'This is gonna be so _boss_!'

Ron threw two more objects over his shoulder. Grimm and Rhonda each caught one. They were another set of bracelets, smaller and thinner than the other one Rhonda wore. 'And put these on - _now_. There's a smaller one for the weasel taped to yours, my dear!'

Grimm and Rhonda put on the bracelets obediently, and Rhonda took a chirruping Rueful from her backpack and slipped a ring-sized bracelet around his paw. Grimm saw a similar band around Ron's wrist, and he stared up at the Mega Synaptic Transducer. The echoing sounds it was making were now leveling out and going quieter, though the machine was glowing brighter than before. The shades of red and blue within the circle were separating and dividing.

'So, planet Earth - steal _my_ Nacos, will ya?' Ron screamed, raising his arms in the air, his cape billowing behind him. 'Well, take _this_!! Wedgie!!' He threw a switch on the main console and the Mega Synaptic Transducer began to emit pulsing waves of sound. The blue and red glowing portions within the circle suddenly swapped places...

Coming Soon:

Chapter 5: Yin Yang Yonder


	5. Chapter 5 Yin Yang Yonder

The Return Of Zorpox

Chapter 5

Kim had dashed to her room and donned her battle suit. She felt it's reassuring power as the bands on it glowed blue. She went downstairs, intending to tell her Mom and Dad what was happening. But as she entered the kitchen, she saw them hunched over the table, breathing heavily, each of them with their hands on their heads as if they were in pain.

'Mom? Dad?' she said. 'Are you all right?' _'Please let them be all right_,' she thought. _'They can't be sick, not now...'_ But they were both straightening up and she saw uncharacteristic scowls in their eyes, though they were both grinning.

'Oh, I'm _better_ than all right, Kimberly Ann!' her Dad said. 'I've just come to the realization that I have the means at my disposal to destroy my enemies!'

'Your... enemies?' said Kim, baffled. 'You mean the cable guy?'

Dr. Possible paused a moment. 'I was thinking of my co-workers,' he said, 'but now that you mention it, _he_ needs to go too! It'll be black holes! Black holes for everyone!! Hahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaa!!!'

'Uh, Mom?' she said. 'Are you OK with this?'

'Yes!' said Dr. Possible, her voice high and tight. 'As long as he doesn't get in the way of _my_ plans! Those directors at the hospital have been lording it around for too long! I think it's high time they had a taste of their own _medicine_! Hahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!' She took one of the longer hypodermic needles from her medical bag and threw back her head in wild laughter.

Kim backed away slowly. 'O... K...' she said. 'Look, I need to be somewhere for a while. Why don't you both...'

'_Going_ somewhere, Kim Possible?' came two voices behind her. Kim jumped. Jim and Tim were walking up to her, both with identical grins on their faces. Jim took out a remote and pushed a button on it with a high-pitched beep.

A rocket zoomed from the living room into the kitchen. Kim gasped and dodged it, knocking it in the side with a swift punch. The rocket spiraled out of control. Kim flipped to the other side of the room, opened the kitchen door and the rocket shot outdoors where it exploded in the back yard.

'What is _wrong_ with you, tweebs?' she said, staring at her brothers, who were both glaring back at her.

Dr. Possible stepped forwards. 'I am _very_ disappointed in you, boys!' he said, shaking his finger. 'If you're going to build a doomsday rocket, make it _bigger_!'

'Sorry Dad.' they said.

Kim was standing with her mouth hanging open. Something was incredibly whacked out, and she realized with a jolt that it must have something to do with Ron. She looked down at her wrist, which had the bracelet Ron had given her around it. The circuitry panel on it was emitting a soft glow.

She looked up at her family and saw that all of them were advancing on her, grinning wickedly. Then suddenly, they all reeled backwards, clutching their foreheads again. Her dad raised his head.

'Kim...' he said weakly. 'What happened to us...?'

Then suddenly a sound of maniacal laughter echoed through the house.

_'Boooyahahahahahaha!!!!' _

Kim recognized Ron's voice at once. Somehow every radio in the house, and every TV set had turned on. Kim and the others dashed into the living room to see a blue-faced Ron staring out from their big screen TV, sporting a savage grin.

'People of Earth!' he said, his voice rising to a megalomaniacal pitch. Then suddenly he coughed, his tongue lolling out. 'I've got a hair in my mouth, wait a minute!' He scraped his tongue with his fingers and cleared his throat. 'There! _Ahem_ - people of Earth! I am your new lord and master! You have just noticed the effects of my evil machine. With it I can reverse the law-abiding tendencies of every living being on this planet! You may have thought the world was a troubled place with just a few villains on the loose - but I'll show you what it's like with a world _full_ of super-villains!'

Kim's mouth fell open. She would not have believed it if she had not just seen it for herself. Whatever Ron was doing, it had turned her own family against her in no time flat. Had he really done it to the entire world, or was he just bragging?

Jim and Tim seemed unable to decide if they thought this was cool or not. Mrs. Possible stared in shock. 'Why is Ron on TV and why is he _blue_?' she said.

'My demands are simple!' Ron continued. 'Surrender the world's supply of Nacos to me unconditionally! Or watch as the orderly societies in which you live crumble by your own hands! And while you're thinking it over - I'll give you a few hours taste of what it will be like if you choose to defy my will! _Chao_!' The TV blinked off, briefly flashing a large red "Z" before fading to black.

Kim barely had a few seconds to take in the shock of what she had heard before her family was hunching over again - then straightening up.

'Hikka-bikka-boo!' said Tim.

'Hooo-sha-haha_hahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaa_!!' Jim cried out, laughing evilly. Her Mom and Dad were also laughing. Kim's bracelet glowed, and she knew - somehow it was protecting her from the effects of whatever it was that Ron was using.

She dodged as her Dad made a lunge for her, rolling to the side as her mother and brothers both made tries to seize her. 'Stop her!' yelled her Dad. 'She'll ruin our plans for world domination...!'

Kim took up a fighting stance. She didn't have time to wait. If Ron wasn't exaggerating, the whole world was in a similar state and the longer it went on the more damage might be done. Her whole family was advancing on her again.

'Sorry about this.' she said quietly, cracking her knuckles. 'Though I admit, part of me thinks it's a dream come true...'

Less than two minutes later, she was checking the knots on the sets of four chairs to which she had her parents and the twins securely tied. She had also been obliged to gag them, as she got tired of hearing her own family making canned super-villain threats to destroy her.

'I'll be back later to turn you loose.' she said. It had been the hardest thing in the world for her to subdue and tie up her own family. Admittedly, it hadn't been too hard for her to tie up her brothers, but it was still not an experience she wanted to repeat.

Finally, she stepped out into the front lawn and took out her Kimmunicator. 'Wade,' she said, 'What's the sitch? Can you tell me where Ron is now? If he broadcast on world wide television, you must have been able to track him.'

Wade looked shiftily at her. 'Now why would I want to do _that?_' he said, his voice low and grating. 'When I've got a world of my own to conquer!'

Kim felt as if her gut had bottomed out. 'No, Wade...' she said. 'Not you too!'

'That's right, Kim Possible!' he said, holding a flashlight under his chin to under light his face, casting eerie shadows. 'Once I take over the virtual world of Everlot, all the account holders will be at my mercy! If they want their accounts to stay open, over a million gamers will be forced to surrender to me! And once they are at my command, the _real_ world will be next! Hahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaa!!!'

Kim shut off her Kimmunicator. She thought of Monique, and though dreading what she might hear, she could not stop herself from dialing. She needed help - and if there was even the smallest chance...

'Yes?' came Monique's voice through her Kimmunicator.

'Monique, it's me - Kim.' she said. 'I've got a sitch here...'

'Kim Possible!' Monique's voice broke in, shrill and high. 'So you wanna bust up my plan to gain control of the world through Club Banana's distribution network! If you try it girl, I'll change you from heroine to zeroine...!'

Kim shut off the Kimmunicator again. She stood on the sidewalk leading up to her house. The neighborhood seemed eerily quiet, but in the distance, she could hear the sound of sirens and commotion. She thought briefly of taking the car, but if Wade was evil now, she didn't doubt that he had all kinds of remote control links to it that would make using it too dangerous.

She felt alone - more alone than she had ever felt in her life. There was no one she could turn to for help. If Ron was telling the truth in his broadcast, then everyone she knew and trusted was now against her. She clenched a fist, glancing toward her house, where her family was tied up and helpless. She had to stop Ron and Team Probable - but she couldn't bring herself to leave her family like this. She sank down on the steps to the porch and began to cry.

'Kim! _Kim_!!' Kim suddenly looked up, fighting back her tears. She saw Bonnie tearing down the street, her face pale. She dashed across the yard and stopped in front of her, panting and looking exhausted.

'Bonnie?' Kim said. 'What are you doing here...?'

'Kim, it's _awful_!' she said. 'It's like the whole city's gone nuts! Everyone in the cheer squad is saying how they're going to use their moves to take over the world, the chess club is making plans to put the city in checkmate; and Mr. Barkin has taken over the school and he's calling himself "Lord Barkorr"!'

Kim looked at her. Bonnie's face was full of concern, and more - she seemed _different_ and not just afraid. 'Why did you come here?' she asked.

Bonnie smiled brightly. 'Are you kidding?' she said. 'I figured if anyone would know what to do, it would be you! You're the greatest!'

'Me? The _greatest_?' Kim said, dumbstruck.

'Totally!' Bonnie said, her eyes practically shining with admiration. 'I wish I could be as brave and talented as you!'

Kim glanced at her bracelet, which was still glowing, then back at Bonnie. The truth dawned on her - Ron's machine hadn't just turned everyone in the world evil. It had _swapped_ their good and evil leanings so that everyone who was normally good and law-abiding was now going all super-villain. And those who had evil on their brains were now finding their _good_ tendencies on top. As strange as it seemed, even the normally subversive and obnoxious Bonnie was now acting helpful and supportive.

'...and that outfit looks _so_ cool on you!' Bonnie was saying.

'Riiiiiight...' said Kim. The whole sitch was so ultra-mega weird she wasn't sure what to say. 'Look Bonnie, I need to find Ron. If you want to help, could you keep an eye on things here while I'm out?' The thought of a friend looking after her family was a great relief to her, even if it was Bonnie. 'Just don't listen to my folks and don't untie them until I say so.'

'Anything for you Kim! You're my best friend!' Bonnie smiled, her face warm and kind looking. Kim started off down the sidewalk and Bonnie called after her. 'Good luck finding Ron! You two were always so _cute_ together!'

On several windows within the main monitor screen, Grimm and Rhonda watched as chaos erupted in many major cities. Even the police were joining in the looting, as it seemed like everyone was trying to build their own doomsday machines, take over their businesses, neighborhoods or houses. Ron turned and grinned. 'How's _that_ for back-up?' he said with satisfaction. 'Now Kim Possible will have to fight her way through a whole _city_ to get to me!!'

Rhonda stood dumbstruck. 'How did...?' she started, but Ron interrupted her.

'A little idea I picked up from Dementor.' he said. 'The simple-minded fool didn't realize what power he'd stumbled into! By hijacking the global satellite network, I can broadcast the signal from my Mega Synaptic Transducer across the entire planet! Oh, I'm so brilliant I even scare _me_!' he took out a small mirror and looked into it. 'Aaaaah!' he screamed, cringing as he looked at himself. He waved in Grimm's direction while still admiring himself in the mirror. 'You can let Rufus go now, he's cool.' he said.

Grimm stepped doubtfully to Rufus's cages, but unlocked them. Rufus scampered out with slitted eyes and a mischievous grin. 'Ha haaaaaa!' he squeaked, dashing towards Ron and scampering up his leg to perch on his forearm.

'Hey there little buddy!' Ron said, holding out a finger, which Rufus slapped with his paw in a 'high-five' gesture. 'Care to help me spread some evil?'

'Yeah! Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah!' Rufus chittered, rubbing his paws together.

'Ooooooh!' Ron crooned, his voice going low and cutesy. 'Who's an evil little naked mole rat? Who's an evil little naked mole rat?' He tickled Rufus' tummy and Rufus laughed.

Grimm raised an eyebrow, but smiled all the same. Rhonda looked at Rueful, who looked back at her as they both shared an expression of slight embarrassment. Then suddenly Ron turned to them again.

'All right people, we've still got work to do. The whole world may be against her now, but somehow I doubt that Kim Possible will let that stop her! She'll target the Mega Synaptic Transducer first. While I'm installing equipment to protect it, _you_ two will have to run interference!'

'You've got it.' said Grimm. 'Any thoughts on what we should expect?'

Ron grinned. 'Oh, knowing her like I do, I've got a few ideas...' his hand twitched around the hilt of the Lotus Blade.

Kim dashed down the street, with no clear idea of what to do next. She began thinking to herself - trying to think what Ron would do. As clear as a bell, she heard him speaking in her head, when she herself had asked during the Diablo menace, where they should start looking for the Diablo signal.

_'The source of all things evil - Bueno Nacho!'_

Racing past houses, buildings and stores on her way into town, she heard bursts of maniacal laughter from nearly everyone. She saw dozens of ramshackle doomsday machines being built on rooftops, front lawns and driveways. As she entered the city proper, she saw similar behavior. Luckily, everyone seemed engrossed in their own pursuits and didn't pay much attention to her. Her first instinct was to leap into action and stop each person who looked like they were trying to take over the world.

'_Eyes on the prize, Kim._' she said to herself. She couldn't afford to stop and fight each person she met. If she could find and stop Ron, then they would all go back to normal. Finally, Bueno Nacho loomed before her.

She burst in through the doors, ready for anything. But she saw only Ned, who was grinning and mixing various ingredients. As Kim entered, he looked up.

'Kim Possible!' he said in his nasally voice. 'You won't succeed in stopping my plans for world domination! Once I formulate a mind-control serum, everyone who eats at Bueno Nacho will be _my_ slave...!'

'So don't have time for this!' Kim said. Barely a minute later, Ned was gagged and tied up on the floor. 'Sorry, Ned.' she said, wondering how many times this would happen before she found Ron. She searched the restaurant from top to bottom, but found nothing.

She sat down instinctively in the booth she and Ron had always shared, racking her brain, trying to think like Ron again. She held her Kimmunicator, fighting back the urge to try calling Wade again. It was her first instinct to turn to him for information - and information was what she desperately needed. But Wade was probably deep into his plan for taking over Everlot by now.

Suddenly, the screen bleeped on, though she had not hit any buttons. She saw a girl with an Asian complexion, with spiked hair that had multi-colored streaks pulled into two pony-tails. 'Is this Kim Possible?' she said, her voice slightly muffled speaking through a lollypop she had in her mouth.

'Who are you?' said Kim, baffled.

She took out her sucker, then smiled and waved. 'Heard my voice, but never met formally! Name's Jade!'

'_Jade_?' she said. 'Grimm's hacker?'

'In the flesh!' she chirped. 'Well, sort of...'

'What do _you_ want?' she glared. 'If he sent you to gloat, then you can tell him to...'

'Woah, amp it down Lady K!' Jade said, spreading out her hands and showing her wrists. 'Grimm didn't send me. Fact is, he'll probably be a little miffed that I called you. You see, your BF didn't mail me one of those funky bracelets.'

Kim looked at the glowing band around her wrist. 'So you're...'

'Your new eye in the sky!' Jade smiled. 'I'll do stand-in for Wade - unless you'd rather go it alone.' Kim bit her lip. Her doubt must have showed, because Jade piped in again. 'Look, I don't have any way to _prove_ it, but I really want to help.'

Kim felt a desperate resolve growing in her. It was time to take a chance. 'All right.' she said. 'Sitch me, Jade.' she said.

Jade smiled and soon her fingers were dancing across several keyboards. 'Cliff Notes version - your boy Ron made something called the Mega Synaptic Transducer and it's reversed the good and evil tendencies of everyone on Earth. Which is probably why I'm being so helpful now. I can't guarantee I won't turn against you if you stop him, for which I apologize in advance.'

'Accepted.' said Kim. 'The good and evil thing I've kinda noticed on my own. I have to bust up his Mega-whatever, but I'm flying blind...'

'Tell it to the gal with the prism hair-do!' Jade grinned. 'Ron and the others are holed up in a warehouse on the edge of town. Here's your Rand-McNally!' Jade's face vanished and the Kimmunicator screen flashed up a street map. In glowing, green lines and letters, she saw the intersection where she was standing along with a blinking red arrow and the words "You Are Here". Then it panned out, moving to the northwest of Middleton. In the Industrial section of town, just near the edge of the city, she saw a blinking red "Z" and the words "Ron is Here".

Jade's face reappeared. 'Don't expect a cake-walk inside.' she said. 'Ron's been beefing up security big time. But there's an access drain that leads right into the warehouse. I found it in the floor plans.' The screen showed a diagram of the huge building, along with a blinking set of lines showing where the access drain led in to the warehouse, and where it led out. 'Once you're in, I won't be able to help you. The whole place is loaded with jamming equipment, and once the Transducer went on line, I got put on his 'banned' list.'

Kim stared at her. 'How do I know I can trust you?' she said.

Jade sighed. 'Like I said, I can't prove it. But I don't think your BF _forgot_ to clue me in on his plan. I think he wanted me to tell you where he was.'

Kim remembered how Ron had anticipated her arrival when he'd had Drakken's evil, always thinking several steps in advance. And she remembered his words in the fake Bueno Nacho.

_'What's a villainous plot without a do-gooder trying to get in the way?'_

'I have to stop them Jade.' she said. 'All of them.'

Jade looked regretful. 'I know.' she said. 'Just... don't hurt them Kim. They're my _friends_.' The screen flashed and went black.

Kim looked towards the section of town where Jade had directed her and saw a distant glow. 'Thanks, Jade.' she said softly. 'But I get the feeling your friends don't feel the same way.'

Kim dashed out of Bueno Nacho, and her eye strayed to a scooter dealership down the street. Outside was a sign that read "Free Test Drives". She smiled and ran towards it.

Coming Soon:

Chapter 6: We Do Ron-Ron


	6. Chapter 6 We Do Ron Ron

The Return Of Zorpox

Chapter 6

Kim Possible copyrighted by Disney, et. al

Within moments, Kim was astride a sleek red scooter, screaming down the city streets, avoiding the numerous crowds of people who were looting, laughing and generally missing only the colorful costumes to complete the whole super-villain mojo. But none of them seemed to be going out of their way to attack her, being busy with their own doings. She spied the distant hillside where the warehouse was located, and saw a giant antenna jutting up into the sky from the rooftop, with a red and blue glow surrounding it...

Ron sat in his chair, looking at several windows in the large main screen of the control panel. 'Hmph! My super-villain army is proving such a disappointment!' he said, drumming his fingers on the armrest and using his other hand to pet Rufus like a cat. 'Well, it's not like they _all _know Kim Possible by sight, I suppose.'

'This change things?' said Grimm, standing behind him.

Ron grinned, swiveling the chair to face him. 'No, it just bumps up the timetable a bit - which only makes it more fun!' he said. 'She's approaching right now. Get into position and get ready! Once her EMP dart fails, she'll come straight to you, and I'm counting on you to make sure she's nice and careless!'

Grimm raised an eyebrow. 'Do you care _how_ I do it?' he said.

Ron leaned back in his chair. 'You thinking of using that thing you're hiding in your belt pouch?' He said, smiling broadly. Grimm stood impassively. 'Yes, I know all about it.' Ron said. 'Well, go ahead, I don't want it anymore.' he waved him off. 'Get going, ya little scamp!'

Grimm nodded and dashed off.

Kim vaulted the fence that surrounded the warehouse. She could clearly see the spire of the Mega Synaptic Transducer, glowing and sending a bassy rumble that throbbed through the air. She reached in her backpack and took out the EMP dart gun that Wade had given her to use on Drakken's Diablo emitter. It had been refitted and was ready to fire.

She drew a slow bead on the spire of the Transducer. With a bang, the EMP dart flew straight towards the circular ring at the apex of the machine. There was a sudden flash of light, and the dart exploded. Kim saw a ripple of energy that was unmistakably a protective field, spreading out from the explosion, then fading from sight.

'Hard way it is, then.' she said quietly.

Within minutes, she had found the drop leading to the access tunnel that Jade mentioned. She began scrambling down a rough cliff wall toward the entrance. Fragmented and crumbling stone made the cliff easy to climb, like a rough stairwell, only very treacherous. The cliff was some distance from the warehouse, over a drop in the grassy fields which surrounded the building. And Kim could see the wide circular rim of the drainpipe. She reached the pipe and flipped down, using her laser lipstick to cut loose the grate which sealed the entrance. A soft flow of murky water was spilling down onto the rocks far below with a rushing sigh.

The sound of the water and her own footsteps took on an echoing, metallic noise as she entered the tunnel. It was wide and high, large enough for three people to walk in side by side. As her eyes adjusted to the gloom, she saw a dim light far ahead. She remembered Jade's words and knew this light must be where the access tunnel entered the warehouse.

A sudden sound made her jump. 'Question,' Grimm Probable's voice came from across the tunnel, echoing slightly in the confined space. 'Why are you trying to sneak in while wearing the battle-suit?' he asked, sounding amused. 'It's white - and it _glows_. You couldn't sneak up on anyone wearing that ridiculous number.'

Kim stared as Grimm stepped forward into the half-light. He was wearing a form-fitted suit, only it was black, and it had bands on it similar to the ones on her own battle-suit, but they were glowing reddish-orange.

'Nice outfit.' she said, going into a ready stance. 'Do you _have_ to copy everything I do?'

'I was going to ask you the same question.' he answered, stepping towards her with his arms moving in the distinctive style of Tai Shing Pek Kwar. 'But here's another one - how did you find us?' he asked. 'Your hacker friend shouldn't be in any condition to...' he paused for a moment, then shook his head. 'Jade.' he said. 'Ron didn't make a bracelet for her. I don't like leaving friends out of the loop. Now I'll have to apologize to her later - send her a bundt cake or something.'

'Out of the way.' she said quietly. 'You know I have to stop this.'

'My boss would have issues with that.' said Grimm. 'And in case you hadn't noticed - he's not someone you want to cross.'

Grimm was blocking her way to the access hatch. She leaped forward, trying to flip her way over and past him to make a dash for the ladder which led up to the hatch, but Grimm crossed his arms in front of himself, intercepting her. A reddish-orange sphere of light, with bright yellow veins of energy spreading through it surrounded him as Kim plowed into him and she found herself hurled back. She rolled and got to her feet, confronting him again.

'What do you think? Badical?' Grimm said, smiling. 'Ron made it for me - he said it would be useful. Looks like he was right.'

Kim glared at him. 'You _so_ must realize I'm not giving up.' she said.

'I believe you.' said Grimm, his voice uncharacteristically polite. 'So I guess I have no choice but to... stand aside.' And he turned, moving to the side of the wide metal tunnel, gesturing toward the distant ladder.

Kim was nonplussed. Grimm was one of the few enemies who could go toe to toe with her, and he had a battle-suit that seemed like it could do anything her own could do. Why was he letting her pass? She stepped forward, her feet splashing in the dirty water of the tunnel, until she was level with Grimm. Grimm stayed still, leaning against the tunnel wall, looking curiously at her.

'What's the deal?' she said, still moving past him, but not taking her eyes off him.

'You should appreciate this, Kim. I thought it was the good guys who coined the phrase 'fighting isn't always necessary'.' he said, 'There are all sorts of ways to stop someone.' As she moved further away, he started walking down the tunnel to the spot where Kim had first entered. 'Before you go in the warehouse,' he said casually, 'let me show you what I mean.'

Kim paused, looking down the tunnel and seeing Grimm silhouetted against a circle of slightly brighter night sky behind him. She saw him reach into his belt pouch and take out a small capsule that was glowing with a bluish light.

'Know what this is?' said Grimm, and Kim could see he was smiling, an evil glint in his eye. 'I'm not surprised you don't recognize it by sight - after all, it's been right in front of you your whole life and you've never really noticed it. This is the good which the Attitudinator extracted from Ron.'

Kim felt a cold chill as Grimm held the capsule out through the opening of the tunnel, rolling it back and forth on his open palm. It was at least a fifty foot drop onto a rocky surface. The ladder and the hatch were suddenly forgotten. She dashed back towards Grimm, her feet squelching in the sludge. 'Give it!' she yelled, but she wasn't able to keep the concern out of her voice.

Grimm held the pod in his fingertips, palm down, and Kim froze. 'His good won't go back to him without the Attitudinator to focus it.' he said. 'If this capsule is destroyed - his good is gone. The Ron you knew will cease to exist.'

They stared at each other in silence for several tense seconds.

'So now you get it.' said Grimm. 'A minute ago, you couldn't wait to rush in and save the world - now you've got nothing better to do than stare at me. You see - there are all _sorts_ of ways to stop someone.'

'What do you _want_?' Kim growled. She was tense as a bowstring, ready to leap.

Grimm stared back at her. 'I want you to _suffer_.' he said. And with a casual flick of his wrist, he tossed the capsule into space.

Kim gasped as the glowing blue capsule spiraled down. Without hesitating, she leaped past Grimm and over the edge. She could see the tiny dot of blue plummeting down into the darkness and raised her hand, getting ready to fire her grappling line in an attempt to swing down and save the capsule.

But suddenly she veered off to the side and felt something lashed tight around her ankle. Grimm had sent his own grapple line, had unerringly twined it around her leg, and was hauling her back up to the ledge. Desperately, Kim fired her own grapple line, but she knew simply by sight that it was no use.

She heard a distant sound like glass shattering and saw a flash of blue light which flared briefly for a moment and then disappeared. 'No!' she whispered, then turned in rage on Grimm, who was pulling her back safely to the rim of the ledge.

'Too late Kim.' he said, backing off until he was just out of striking distance. 'If you want to restore Ron to his old self, you've got a hard choice in front of you.' He stared at her, his expression flat and cold. 'You can still get him back to normal. But to do it - you'll have to use the Attitudinator to _steal_ good from someone else and give it to Ron.'

Kim stood aghast. 'I'll be interested to see who you target for the process.' he continued. 'What innocent victim will you condemn to a lifetime of evil in order to save your precious Ron?'

'You...' Kim hissed, trembling in fury. '...how _could_ you...?'

Grimm ignored her. 'Will you go after someone you know? A friend? A family member? Or will you hunt down some anonymous loser in the dead of night and rob them of their good?' he paused, a light of cunning shining behind his eyes. 'But maybe I'm giving you too much credit.' he continued. 'Maybe you don't even _want_ to save Ron - maybe you never _really_ cared about him!'

With a scream of rage, Kim charged at him. She struck wildly, a haze of tears blurring her vision, but Grimm was blocking and countering her just as easily has he had the first time they battled. She blinked back her tears, trying to concentrate, struggling to find some weakness in his defenses. She struck faster and with more focus, blocking Grimm's occasional strikes and returning with her own. The protective shields on both their suits flared up occasionally, hers a bluish white, his a reddish orange. They continued for several minutes in a blurred and graceful dance of strikes, blocks and kicks, punctuated with flashes of blue and orange light.

Grimm scowled at her, his face almost looking frustrated as he continued to counter her every move. 'You're still going scattershot on me, Kim!' he said, neatly deflecting each of her strikes. 'I thought after our last battle that you'd put at least _some_ time into your Kung-Fu! What was the point of all this if you aren't even going to try?'

Kim lashed out with all the speed she could muster, her teeth gritted in frustrated rage. Try as she might, she couldn't get past his defense. He smiled that smug smile of his. 'I find that Thibault cancels out Capo Ferro, don't you?' he said with a fake English accent.

'Shut _up_!' Kim, striking out with both hands. There was a blue flash, accompanied by an orange flash, and both Kim and Grimm slammed back against opposite sides of the tunnel wall.

They both stood at the ready position, both breathing heavily with the effort of their battle. _'I can't let him rattle me!'_ she thought. _'Stay focused!'_ With a growl, she charged forward again, and Grimm charged to meet her. She shifted and launched another series of attacks, one after the other, her hands moving in a haze of blue light.

Kim lashed out and Grimm took one of her punches in his chest, rolling with it and seizing her arm, twisting around and smoothly putting her into a hammerlock as he slid behind her. She tried to pivot and roll free, but Grimm swept her feet out from under her and she found herself being slammed down on the tunnel floor, Grimm holding her arm fast.

Grimm's other hand seized the nape of her neck, pushing her head down to the surface of the water. '_Look_ at yourself Kim!' he growled. Kim's reflection, her face twisted with anger, was shimmering and rippling up at her in the murky stream of the tunnel floor. 'Then ask - are you and Ron _really_ all that different now?'

Kim twisted and lashed out with a kick, but Grimm rolled with her and flipped to the side, avoiding her strike. They rose to face each other again. 'You... _jerk_!' Kim snarled.

'I get that a lot.' said Grimm, unruffled.

'I'm gonna take you down if it's the last thing I do!' she said.

'Sorry, but that's gonna have to be an 'either-or' thing!' he answered.

They collided again with a brilliant flash of light as the energy in each of their suits fought to override the other. Kim tried to focus, and her arms flurried through a smooth, relentless series of attacks, which Grimm continued blocking and countering with infuriating ease.

In fact, she _had_ been practicing her Kung Fu - for a long time after their first encounter. She had resolved to take her game up a level so she wouldn't find herself stalemated like she had before. And part the training had been concentration. She came to the conclusion that part of why Grimm had fought her to a standstill was shaking her mentally to the point that she was so mad at him she couldn't keep her head in the game. She fought hard to keep down her anger. As hard as it was to keep cool after what Grimm had done, she couldn't afford to let herself get thrown off again.

And as they dueled, Kim noticed a gradual shift in the way Grimm was fighting. For the first time, he seemed to be concentrating hard and did not look nearly as relaxed. 'Rockin!' he said, his voice full of excitement. 'I knew if I just prodded enough I could finally get a decent fight out of you!'

'Be careful what you wish for!' she hissed.

Then as if viewing in slow motion through someone else's eyes, Kim saw an opening in his defenses - his jaw exposed to an undercut. As quick as she could, she shifted and lashed out with all the strength she had. And at last, she felt the satisfying jolt of her fist connecting. Grimm's head snapped to the side and he rolled backwards, looking dazed.

Kim pressed forward with another strike. Grimm managed to partially block, but Kim's hand flashed blue and a tearing slash formed in Grimm's suit just below his shoulder. Kim rolled and kicked up as she slid beneath him, her feet thudding into his chest with a flash of reddish orange and Grimm flew upwards through the short tunnel of the access hatch.

With a metallic clang, he blasted through the manhole lid covering the hatch, and Kim leaped up after him. She landed inside the warehouse. She could see the Mega Synaptic Transducer in the middle of the structure, dominating everything else, the circular antenna at the top jutting through the massive hatch in the roof, revolving slowly as waves of red and blue energy pulsated from it.

Grimm slid to a stop on the concrete floor, a few feet away from the access hatch and lay motionless on the floor. The manhole lid landed next to him with a shrill _clang_ before rolling and wobbling like a huge coin and then falling still.

Kim dashed up to Grimm and gripped the neckline of his suit, rolling him over, her fist raised to strike. But as she looked at his face, she saw his expression of amused calm had returned. The tear in his suit was healing, the rip closing before her very eyes.

'Feeling _careless_?' he said smoothly.

From the side, Kim saw a flash of movement and dodged instinctively to the side. But the Lotus Blade twisted and followed her, and Kim felt a clamping pressure just above her foot and heard a click. She saw a metallic hand drawing back and a thick manacle around her ankle.

Grimm sprang to his feet, looking unhurt and unwinded. Kim realized that he had been faking to goad her into rushing after him. 'Funny thing about technology,' said Grimm, looking down at her with a satisfied smile, 'If you put yourself in it's service, you also put yourself at its _mercy_.'

Kim tried to roll and vault to her feet, but the moment she tried, she felt a sudden jolt and all her limbs froze. It felt as if her battle suit had suddenly turned into solid steel and she couldn't move. She collapsed to the floor, grimacing with effort as she tried to reach down and remove the manacle.

'Greetings, Kimberly Ann!' came Ron's grating, screechy voice. 'You may as well stop struggling! The harder you fight, the more voltage will course through the device on your leg! I call it the Mega Feedback Modulator!' Grimm sighed and shook his head slightly.

'You're essentially a prisoner in your own battle-suit now, my dear!' Ron said as he strode forward, his cape billowing behind him. Kim winced, sweat running down her forehead, but her battle suit remained as rigid as stone. She felt herself being hauled to her feet as Grimm and Rhonda braced her, dragging her up and propping her into the same chair they had used to imprison Ron. Rhonda and Grimm then took their places behind Ron and Kim saw Rueful and Rufus gamboling around their heels, chittering and laughing.

'Ron...' she started, but Ron raised his hand, putting a finger to his lips.

'Shhhh!' he said. 'I've been setting things up for hours waiting for you to get here, now don't you _dare_ interrupt!' He turned to Rhonda and Grimm, and threw them a pair of cordless microphones. 'Come on people, places! Chop-chop!' he barked, clapping his hands walking towards a raised platform in the middle of the room.

Grimm paused, looking down at Kim. 'Sorry about this.' he said, his expression genuinely apologetic. 'But he's the boss - and when he learned you were coming, he insisted.' Then he walked away and stood on another platform with Rhonda.

Ron tapped a button on his belt and spotlights flooded the platform. Kim heard music suddenly booming from speakers all around the warehouse - a tune that was familiar.

'Here's a little ditty I wrote for an old friend,' said Ron, taking out the Lotus Blade. It turned into a microphone with a flash of light. 'She missed my talent performance a while back - but guess what? Now she's a _captive_ audience!' He clicked another button on his belt and canned laughter echoed from the speakers. Off to the side, both Grimm and Rhonda rolled their eyes. Then he raised the microphone to his mouth and the music reached a fanfare, and Ron began to sing, with Rhonda and Grimm both doing backup.

_I've got an evil plot in mind that won't sit still!  
We do Ron-Ron-Ron, we do Ron-Ron!  
I got a plan that'll force the entire world to surrender to my will!  
we do Ron-Ron-Ron, we do Ron-Ron!_

_Yeah, from my villain's lair!  
I'll bring my evil plan to bear!  
All the Earth will cringe in fear,  
They do Ron-Ron-Ron, They do Ron-Ron!_

_I'm evil from my head down to the tips of my shoes!  
We do Ron-Ron-Ron, We do Ron-Ron!  
They'll be reporting all my evil deeds tonight on network news!  
We do Ron-Ron-Ron, We do Ron-Ron!_

_All the nacos will be mine!  
The world beneath my heel I'll grind!  
Ev'ryone will bow to me!  
They do Ron-Ron-Ron, They do Ron-Ron!!_

_My evil flunky sidekicks are named Rhonda and Grimm,  
We do Ron-Ron-Ron, we do Ron-Ron!  
They exist to serve their master and to obey my every whim!  
We do Ron-Ron-Ron, we do Ron-Ron!_

_Ron's voice may grate and whine,  
But he's our evil mastermind!  
That's why we all obey!  
We do Ron-Ron-Ron, we do Ron-Ron!_

_We do Ron-Ron-Ron, we do Ron-Ron!  
We do Ron-Ron-Ron, we do Ron-Ron!  
We do Ron-Ron-Ron, we do Ron-Ron!  
We do Ron-Ron-Ron, we do Ron-Ron!_

Ron hammed it up during the production, with as much enthusiasm and gusto as he had used when doing the Naked Mole Rap. He tapped various controls on his belt, setting off fireworks and a colorful array of laser lights. Unable to move, Kim could only watch, half in bemused disbelief, half in fearful uncertainty.

As the last note faded to silence, all the lights dimmed except for one spotlight shining down on Ron. Ron stood with his back turned to Kim, raising one claw-like finger in the air and pointing vaguely off to the side.

'And... cue the ninja.' he said.

Kim heard a soft pattering around her and gasped as several black-suited ninja landed beside her chair...

Coming Soon:

Chapter 7: Sensei and Sensibility


	7. Chapter 7  Sensei and Sensibility

Chapter 7

Sensei and Sensibility

Ron turned around, the Lotus Blade changing back into a sword. 'It's about time you Yamanouchi yahoos showed up!' he sneered. 'Honestly, what kept you? I had to write that song just so you could have more time to get here!'

Frozen in her battle-suit, Kim could only move her head and she glanced to either side. There were about a dozen black-suited ninja flanking her chair, and with a start, she recognized one of them.

'_Yori_?'

Yori looked down at Kim. 'Do not be afraid, Possible-chan.' she said. 'We are not affected by Stoppable-san's machine.'

One of the ninja flashed out with a swipe from his katana, and the Mega Feedback Modulator fell from Kim's ankle, severed neatly into two sparking pieces. Kim rose up. Ron stood, covering his mouth in a feigned yawn. Kim could see no bracelets on the wrists of any of the ninja. 'But how...?' she started.

'It was my doing, Kim Possible.' said a deep, soothing voice. Master Sensei stepped forwards. 'Our keenest hunters have been scouring the globe ever since the Lotus Blade was stolen. However, that proved unnecessary when it was seen in the hand of Stoppable-san during his broadcast. We came to Middleton at once - all who were able.'

_'D'oy_!' said Ron. 'I knew the meditations and mental discipline you teach would protect _some_ of you from the effects of the Mega Synaptic Transducer!' he said. 'Doesn't look like many, though. I guess most of your students have been skipping their homework!' he shook his head and _tsked_ in mock disappointment.

Sensei simply stood frowning. 'Did you truly believe that the Yamanouchi School would allow the Lotus Blade to be used for evil?'

'Of course I didn't.' said Ron. 'And yet that's exactly what's happening! Sen-_sorry_ to disappoint you.'

'You were the chosen one.' said Sensei. 'You once fought for good and justice. Return to the light so the Lotus may bloom in peace once more.'

'Mmmmm no...' said Ron, looking thoughtful. 'You see I expected you and your students to show up eventually, so I think I may as well add one more to the mix...' He snapped his fingers.

With a blur of motion, Grimm leaped and flipped over Ron, landing between him, Sensei and his advancing students. 'Hello master.' said Grimm with a smile. 'Aren't you going to say _konnichi wa_?'

'Grimm.' said Sensei, and for a moment, his brow creased in unmistakable anger before his normal calm expression snapped back into place. 'It is _you_ who set these events in motion.'

'Not at all.' he said, going into a ready stance. He didn't seem afraid that he was facing a master and a dozen of his students. His face was as calm and smug as ever. 'I admit only to succeeding where you failed - in helping your 'chosen one' realize his potential. Beyond that, I did nothing.'

Sensei gestured to his students and they parted, leaving a clear space where he and Grimm squared off. But both stood quite still. Kim could feel the tension between them like a firecracker waiting to explode. Still, neither of them moved.

'Come on, Sensei.' said Grimm, smiling faintly. 'I know you better than that, and you know me. I learned directly from you that when you force your enemy to come to you, you give yourself a number of advantages. If you think I'll surrender those advantages to you, you're gravely mistaken.'

Sensei stared coldly at Grimm, but his eye flicked to the Mega Synaptic Transducer. 'You may as well make that first move, Sensei.' Grimm continued. 'You can stand there waiting until doomsday for all I care - but with your chosen one in control - doomsday is coming a lot faster that you might guess.'

Ron stood behind them, glaring impatiently. 'Will you two just get _on_ with it?' he yelled, waving his hands.

Sensei's eyes narrowed even more, and he let out a sigh. Then he stepped forward cautiously, his arms raised and ready. Grimm stood waiting. Sensei lashed out, but Grimm countered and blocked, shifting his stance.

Sensei struck once more, and once more he was blocked. He struck again, and was blocked again. There was a silent pause. Then suddenly Sensei was striking with blinding speed, moving smoothly and gracefully. His arms and hands were dealing out strikes and kicks, and yet he did so with seemingly little effort. His face was a study of concentration and calm.

But Grimm was moving just as quickly, matching Sensei in both speed and grace. His look of relaxed calm vanished, replaced with a dark expression of total focus.

'You have taken one who is pure in heart and twisted him.' Sensei said calmly, even as he continued with a relentless number of attacks.

Grimm's eyes narrowed. He continued to match Sensei, countering his moves, though he was visibly exerting himself. 'Pure in heart?' he said, 'That's a dodge your school teaches so you can fool yourselves into thinking all the time you spent meditating wasn't wasted. Every person has good - and evil. It's ingrained in each of us - no matter how much we try to fight it, or what laughable philosophies are concocted to deny it.'

'Grimm was one of Sensei's students?' Kim said. 'Talk about mega-weird!'

'He was one of the Yamanouchi School's most adept.' Yori said. 'But eventually Sensei discerned the darkness in his heart, and banned him from the school. It would seem that he has continued his study of Tai Shing Pek Kwar outside of Yamanouchi.'

'But Sensei can beat him, right?' Kim said.

Yori frowned. 'I do not know. He was nearly an equal to Sensei when he was cast out. He seems even stronger now.'

Sensei feinted smoothly, ducking under one of Grimm's countering moves, and it seemed as if he would land a telling blow. But Grimm shifted, and though his block missed, there was a flash of orange light that streaked from his hand and Sensei's blow was deflected. Kim stood, so tense it felt as if the Mega Feedback Modulator was around her ankle again. Grimm's suit had the same defensive capabilities as her own. Sensei may have more skill, but Grimm's battle suit gave him a number of abilities that leveled the playing field.

'I know it upsets your apple-cart, _Master_.' Grimm continued, his face shining with sweat, 'But the Chinese hit closer to the mark when they came up with the philosophy of the Yin-Yang. The fact is, there are two voices in all of us. One light - and one dark.'

Kim could not stand by any longer. She stepped forward, but Ron shook his finger. 'Uh-uh!' he said. 'No audience participation in_ this _performance!' He tapped his belt, and the lasers which he had used to make the lightshow for his song suddenly glowed bright. They fired a series of shots which landed just in front of Kim and the Yamanouchi students, blasting craters into the stone floor. Kim gritted her teeth. There were at least a dozen laser guns mounted near the ceiling, leveled at them and ready to fire.

Grimm was still fending off Sensei's attacks. 'In every heart there's a dark voice that whispers and encourages us to lie, to cheat, to steal.' he said, his own teeth clenched in concentration as he managed to keep pace with Sensei. 'It's the super-villain in all of us. But the voice of light almost always buries their dark side. Only an extraordinary few have that situation reversed, where the dark side is dominant and suppresses the light. Your chosen one is now an extraordinary person.'

Sensei shook his head. 'I should never have taught you, young Grimm.' he said. 'You have proved a very great disappointment.'

'A disappointment?' Grimm smirked. 'They say a teacher's proudest moment is when he's surpassed by a student.' he said. 'I hope this day to make you _proud_!'

Kim stepped slowly forward until she was ahead of Yori and the other Yamanouchi students. She whispered to Yori out of the corner of her mouth. 'There's a control console on the other side of the warehouse.' she said softly, and Yori nodded. 'You have to find a way to shut off Ron's machine. I'll do what I can to make sure the lasers don't touch you. When I signal, go for the controls!'

Ron stood glaring at Kim across the way from where Grimm and Sensei continued their duel. A knowing smile was on his face and he gestured at Rhonda, who looked nervous, but nodded slightly.

At that moment, Sensei caught Grimm with a solid strike in his chest. Grimm flew back, skidding across the floor before flipping to his feet, his face scowling.

'_Go_!' Kim shouted. Yori and the other ninja bolted to the side. As they did so, the laser cannons fired. Kim formed her hand module and caught one of the laser shots that fired out, throwing it back towards the cannons. One of the lasers exploded, and she raised her shield, the remaining shots repelling from her.

Kim could see the Yamanouchi students, with Yori at the lead, racing across the warehouse towards the main console. But ahead of them all was Rhonda Fatigable. Kim caught another laser shot, making sure the cannons stayed focused on her, and cast it back up toward the laser batteries where another cannon exploded in a bloom of red light. She spun and cartwheeled gracefully, catching and throwing back another blast while small explosions flared around her and at her feet, but by keeping up a rhythm of her hand module and shield device, she remained untouched. Finally, the support beam which held up the laser array tore loose, and the other cannons spun wildly, some blasting each other, before they all crashed to the warehouse floor and shattered.

Kim stood panting, pausing for one moment, but then she saw a metallic flash. She raised her shield just as a fist smashed into it, propelled by the writhing tentacle of the Lotus Blade. She was flung backwards, skidding across the floor.

'Audience participation!' said Ron. 'What did I just _say_?'

Kim rose up, seeing Ron striding unconcerned around Grimm and Sensei, who were still battling intensely. He stood in front of her, pointing the Lotus Blade at her. Kim stood at the ready, prepared for anything.

Then Ron suddenly put the Lotus Blade in his belt and cracked his knuckles. 'Too easy.' he said. 'I know you like that hands-on touch...'

Kim stared at him. He wasn't a match for her skill in a straight up fight, but she knew that Ron hardly ever went into a fight unprepared - at least when his evil was in control. She advanced slowly. 'I don't want to fight you.' she said.

Ron snorted. 'Oh _please_!' he said. 'How many movies has _that _been in? You're supposed to be able to do anything, try coming up with some decent lines!' He raised his hands, moving in the style of Monkey Kung-Fu.

Kim reacted quickly, leaping high, her foot raised in a flying kick. She hated to do it, but she had to take him down before he decided to use the Lotus Blade again. If she could remove him from the fight, then Team Probable would go down quickly.

Ron raised one gloved hand and Kim slammed into it. But his arm was so solid it felt as if she had kicked a concrete wall. She felt his fingers clench around her heel and he whirled around, spinning her in his grip, then flung her as if she weighed nothing. Kim gasped, but spun and rolled with her new trajectory, landing as softly as she could. She slid nearly twenty feet after landing, barely able to keep her balance.

Ron was walking towards her again, grinning softly. Kim stood at the ready again. 'So you had your Wheaties this morning?' she said, frowning.

Ron chuckled. 'Actually it was Coco-Puffs.' he said. 'It's important to tank up on nine essential vitamins and minerals before using Mystical Monkey Power!'

Kim started towards him again. She had never actually had to go up against Ron's Mystical Monkey Power, but if the Lotus Blade was any indication of the danger it presented, she could not give him the chance to use it again.

Ron shook his head as she rushed towards him. 'Gonna have to put my foot _down_, Kimberly Ann...!' Then he raised his foot and Kim saw that his blue skin wasn't just blue colored. It was suddenly lit with a blue glow that surmounted his whole body. He stomped on the warehouse floor and there was a thundering _boom_.

Kim felt herself thrown backwards as a shockwave slammed into her like a solid wall. As she got to her feet, she found herself standing side by side with Grimm. They both glanced awkwardly at each other. Both of them were sweating, both of them short of breath, and both looked worried. While Grimm was holding his own against Sensei, he was clearly not winning against him.

Ron and Sensei were standing side by side as well. Ron looked at Sensei, who was still relaxed and untouched. He glanced over at Grimm. 'More than you can chew?' he said.

Grimm squared his shoulders, looking back at Sensei. 'No.' he said, though his voice sounded more grim than cocky.

Ron smiled. 'Holler if you get stuck!' Then he charged at Kim, just as Sensei charged at Grimm.

Just before the Yamanouchi students began their run for the control console, Ron had waved Rhonda off and she had dashed ahead of them. She and the Yamanouchi students ran along either side of the Mega Synaptic Transducer. One of the ninja leaped at the Transducer with a Bo staff, but several feet before he reached it, he was flung back with a cry, bouncing off the protective shield. Rhonda chuckled for a moment, but her laughter was short-lived. She was barely a dozen yards ahead of the other students.

_'Why do I always wind up getting chased by ninja?' _ Rhonda thought, her heart pounding. _'Am I covered with ninja-nip or something?'_

She reached the console, all twelve of the Yamanouchi students coming after her. She stopped at the top of the short stairs and turned to face them, her face pale but resolved. The ninja students and Yori approached her cautiously.

'What'sa matter, Yori?' said Rhonda tauntingly. 'You mad about what's happened to your 'chosen one'?'

Yori stared at Rhonda, her face showed no emotion, but her eyes glittered. 'He is not _my_ chosen one.' she said. 'He and I share a...'

'Yeah, yeah, yeah, _bond of honor._' Rhonda mocked. 'Come on, ninja-girl! You may have _told_ Ron you were OK with he and Kim dating, but between us girls? We both know it's not that simple!'

Yori gritted her teeth. 'You and Grimm have brought disharmony and imbalance by your actions! We are here to set things right!'

'Right?' said Rhonda. 'Yang has been in control of things for ages. How is that 'balanced'?' It's Yin's turn to run the show!'

Yuri scowled. 'Take her!' she said, and the ninja surged forward.

Rhonda smiled. 'Your sensei likes talking in riddles, so here's a good one.' she said with a grin. 'How do you take out a dozen ninja in one blow?' She tapped a button on the console. In this brief instant, Yuri noticed that Rhonda was standing on a small yellow circle, while all the rest of the floor on which they stood was grey...

A surge of electricity charged through the floor. The ninja cried out in pain and collapsed, stunned. After a moment, Rhonda shut off the current. 'With_ gusto_!' she said. She tapped another button and from beneath the feet of each Yamanouchi student an orange circle lit up. With a hiss, a large plastic cylinder rose from beneath each ninja and the tops of them had lids which snapped shut like the iris of an eye, imprisoning each of them. Rhonda giggled. She hadn't had this much fun in ages. She'd been worried when every Yamanouchi student had come after her, but Ron had been right. So far he had been right about everything...

Suddenly, Rhonda saw Yori drop from the above. She had leapt up just before the floor had been electrified. Rhonda reached for the button again, but just before her hand reached the glowing square, the button was shattered by a throwing star. Rhonda gasped. Yori was staring coldly at her, taking out her kunai chain.

'You are filled with such anger,' said Yori. 'Why?'

'Because Kim made a play for my Grimm.' she said, her pretty face now snarling. 'Yeah, she was faking it, but what kind of pathetic doormat just stands by and lets another girl go after her BF? Oh wait - I don't have to ask - do I _Yori_?'

Yori whirled her kunai chain and advanced. 'Your words will not protect you from me.' she said, a definite blush of anger in her cheeks.

'Then how about _this_?' Rhonda smiled and tapped a glowing dot on a thick bracelet she had on her left arm. A circle in the floor opened, and with a hiss, a platform rose up. On it stood what looked like a skeletally thin robot. Its eye socket glowed green and it stood up, going into a ready crouch. Rhonda shouted down to Yori. 'Say hello to the Mega-bot 1.0!' she said. 'Who says the first off the production line isn't the best?'

The Mega-bot charged at Yori with a grating, metallic cry. It moved with amazing speed and Yori flipped out of its path just as it struck with a perfect karate strike. She rolled and twisted to the side. The Mega-bot pursued, flipping, rolling and matching her with equal agility.

From the top of the platform, Rhonda cheered. 'Go, Mega-bot! Kick her scrawny ninja butt!'

Yori gritted her teeth as she blocked several attacks. The Mega-bot was skilled, agile and strong and it kept her on the defensive. She dueled with the machine for several minutes, finally seizing it's arm and trying to flip the robot as she somersaulted, keeping a tight grip. But as she landed, she saw the Mega-bot still standing firm on its feet. Its arm had rotated in its socket with Yori's roll, and with a whirring click, it rotated back, snapping neatly out of Yori's grip.

The Mega-bot lashed out with another strike, followed by a foot sweep as Yori ducked, and Yori found herself landing on the floor with a _thud_ that knocked the wind from her lungs. She rolled to the side just as the Mega-bot's foot stomped into the floor with a lethal sounding crunch.

She rose to her feet and dashed to the side, seeking a better vantage point from which to strike. But the Mega-bot raised its arm and a module snapped up from its forearm. There was a sudden burst and a whirling sound and Yori flattened into a crouch as a throwing star whizzed over her head. She leaped up and rolled in mid-air, the Mega-bot still firing shuriken at her.

Yori sent out her kunai chair and managed to lash it tight around the Mega-bot's forearm, squeezing closed the slot from which the shuriken were being fired. But the Mega-bot quickly twisted its wrist, gripping the chain and giving it a sudden yank.

Yori felt herself flying towards the Mega-bot, which raised its fist to strike. Yori gasped and rolled, twisting into a desperate kick which connected to the Mega-bot's head. There was a flash, and a robotic head spun across the floor. The robot's body stood in place, frozen for a moment, before it listed to the side and collapsed, several wires trailing from it's neck like strands of sparking spaghetti.

Yori rose to her feet, panting. She stared up at Rhonda, who stared back at her with a wicked grin. Rhonda raised her hand, pointing two fingers into the air. Then she slowly brought her hand to her left arm, hitting two more of the many small buttons which studded her bracelet.

On either side of her, Yori saw two more holes open in the floor. And two more Mega-bots rose up, their eye sockets glowing green...

Kim lashed out with a punch, but Ron took it with only a slight grimace. Kim followed up with several smooth strikes and a kick, but Ron blocked her. He didn't block nearly as skillfully as Grimm, but Kim could sense through her blows that Ron felt as solid as an iron statue and was unhurt. Grimm was similarly struggling against Sensei. While he was still holding his own, it was clear that Sensei had the greater level of skill.

Ron lashed out with an outstretched palm, and so did Sensei. Both Kim and Grimm flew backwards, skidding on the soles of their feet and crouching to stabilize themselves. Both glanced at each other again, and they both growled before charging forward, returning to the fray. Both sets of opponents continued in a fight in which the strikes were performed similarly, like a bizarre synchronized swimming event.

Kim stared at Ron's blue face as she struggled for some weakness. But while he didn't seem as skilled as she was, he seemed much stronger and more durable. She could sense that he was just toying with her, and that he might lash out with another shockwave of super-strength at any moment. She marveled for a brief instant why he had never used Mystical Monkey Power on any of their missions together.

_ 'I admit only to succeeding where you failed - in helping your 'chosen one' realize his potential.' _

Those had been Grimm's words. She thought bitterly that in all their time together she had rarely pushed Ron to explore that potential. But Grimm had unlocked it simply by turning him evil. The sight of the shattering capsule containing Ron's good side flashed through her mind. If only his good hadn't been lost, the tide of the battle would turn in their favor.

And as Ron blocked another of her strikes, she saw a flash of white on his wrist. He was wearing a bracelet - identical to the one that was protecting her from the Mega Synaptic Transducer. And as if she had suddenly seen the answer to a frustrating riddle, she knew what to do. The Mega Synaptic Transducer reversed good and evil. Ron was evil. Without the bracelet - he would be good again, and Team Probable would lose their most powerful weapon. She braced herself, forming a new plan of attack.

In the meantime, Grimm and Sensei continued their duel. Grimm was still fighting him to a standstill, but his face now seemed as frustrated as Kim's had been while she was fighting him.

'Your skills have grown, young Grimm.' Sensei said with his ever-calm voice. 'But as a bird knows it must one day leave its nest, even you must see the eventual outcome of this battle.'

'I'm seeing lots of things more clearly than you, master.' he answered. 'Did you like my substitute for the Lotus Blade?'

Sensei frowned, but lashed out with a blindingly swift strike. This time, Grimm took the strike in his chest, but a flash of reddish orange flared, and the force of the blow was absorbed. Grimm swiftly spun, slipping something out of his belt pouch. He did not return an attack, but instead he made as if to seize Sensei's wrist. There was a click, and Sensei drew back, a thick metal bracelet locked tight around his forearm. He glanced at it, then turned to face Grimm again.

From the side, Ron lightly tossed an identical bracelet, which whirled through the air, hooked around Sensei's other wrist, and clamped shut. 'About time!' he crowed.

Grimm shrugged and tapped one of the glowing buttons on his belt. There was a mechanical humming, and Sensei's hands began to slowly come together. He trembled, visibly struggling, but soon the manacles around his wrists came together with a loud _clank_.

'Electro Magnets.' said Grimm, approaching Sensei again. 'I must say, it's nice to see them on someone _else_. I know you can fight most normal people with both hands tied. But how about _me_?' Grimm charged forward, on the attack this time. With his hands bound together, Sensei was not able to react as quickly. He was still able to fend Grimm off for some time, but as the battle continued, Grimm snapped another manacle onto Sensei's left ankle when he used a kick to block one of Grimm's attacks. It hummed, and Sensei's arms were pulled slowly downwards. As he struggled against the powerful pull of the Electro Magnets, Grimm slid across the floor and hooked another one to his right ankle.

Unable to resist the combined strength of each manacle, Sensei was brought to his knees as each Electro Magnet was pulled together. He stared up at Grimm, his expression unreadable as he was bound hand and foot.

Grimm kicked Sensei in the chest and he flew into the chair that had held Kim. Grimm tapped another control on his belt, and the Electro Magnets released Sensei's hands and feet from being locked together, but clamped irresistibly to the arms and legs of the metallic chair. Grimm bowed to Sensei. 'Sit back and relax, master.' he said, 'You worked so hard to have Ron trained while he was at Yamanouchi - now you can see the results from the best seat in the house.' Then turned to face Kim and Ron.

The twin Mega-bots raced toward Yori. Still winded and bruised from her battle with the first Mega-bot, she barely managed to dodge in time. The Mega-bots smoothly pivoted and turned, rushing at her again.

Yori threw the bladed end of her kunai chain, but the second Mega-bot caught it in his metal hand. The other one gripped his own left hand with the right and pulled. The left hand snapped loose, a chain slithering out from it's forearm, and with a swift whirl, he cast his hand at Yori. She rolled to the side, still gripping her own chain, tethered in place by the second Mega-bot, and landed on her feet.

The Mega-bot pulled hard, but this time Yori was ready. She released her chain and took out her fans, and the Mega-bot took Yori's kunai chain and neatly coiled it in it's own hands, readying for a strike. The other Mega-bot's extended hand slid neatly back into place, retracting with a mechanical whirr.

They charged again, and Yori cried out, blocking their strikes. She landed a solid kick into the chest of the second Mega-bot, but there was a loud _clunk_, and the Mega-bot was unaffected. They both struck at the same time, and Yori deflected with her fans. But at the same instant, the Mega-bots extended their other hands outwards on their chains.

Each of Yori's wrists was clamped tightly in the clawed fist of a Mega-bot. She struggled briefly, but the robots heaved and Yori was pulled towards them like a ball on a string. She tried to roll and kick again, but this time the Mega-bots countered and lashed out with kicks of their own. One deflected Yori's strike, the other struck Yori neatly in the chest, sending her sprawling backwards across the floor.

Yori slid for some distance, and got painfully to her feet. She braced herself from another charge from the Mega-bots, but they remained still. She glanced towards Rhonda, who grinned and tapped another button on the console. It was then that Yori saw she had been thrown right into the center of another orange circle on the floor.

In a splintered second, another cylinder hissed from below, being capped from above with a steel lid. Yori struck with all her strength at the tube which now held her sealed, but she was as helpless as the other Yamanouchi students.

Rhonda was up at the console laughing down at her. 'Didn't I tell you when I came back I'd beat your whole school?' she said. 'Didn't believe me, did you? Hail to the all-powerful _Ninjella!!_'

Yori gritted her teeth, recognizing her at last.

'Rueful - victory dance!' Rhonda said, and Rueful scampered to her side. Rhonda did some taunting steps and Rueful mirrored her perfectly. 'That's ri-ight! We wooon! It's mah-birthday! It's mah-birthday! Uh-huh! Uh-huh! Uh-huh-uh-huh-uh-_huh_!'

Yori struck uselessly at her prison as Rhonda and Rueful turned and dashed back towards the center of the warehouse.

Kim saw Sensei shackled to the chair and Grimm turning to face her. He did not make any move to join Ron in fighting her though. He simply stood, watching. Kim blocked Ron's next punch with her shield device, but his blow was so powerful, she could feel the shield getting weaker.

'Booya ha! Ha! _Ha! Ha_!!' he laughed, striking out with each _ha._ Kim managed to dodge and weave aside. The longer the fight continued, the weaker her shield would get. But she smiled inwardly. He was toying with her, his strikes seeming more relaxed - and careless.

Finally, she was in the perfect position, and his next blow was with the left arm. The white bracelet on his wrist flashed beneath her chin as she shifted to the side. Her hands were perfectly placed. She seized his wrist with one hand and hooked his bracelet with her fingers using her other hand.

With a flash of blue light, she snapped the white band and leaped backwards, pulling his bracelet off and holding it firmly in her grip.

Ron fell to his knees, letting out a long, breathy wail. He hunched over, clutching his hands over his face and was soon cringing and shuddering as his shout squeezed the last of his air out. Kim ran to him and grasped his shoulders.

'Ron!' she shouted. 'Ron... can you hear me? Are you all right?' She gently pried Ron's hands from his head and knelt in front of him.

Ron raised his head slowly and Kim saw behind his red goggles that he was still glaring with slitted eyes.

'Psyche!' he grated. He tucked and rolled, his feet lashing out in a backwards kick that sent her sprawling.

She rolled and got to her feet. Ron had the Lotus Blade in his hand again and Kim saw a metallic fist lashing toward her from the left. She shifted and blocked, but the tendril of the Lotus Blade shot past her, then came from the right, then from above. It was changing form so quickly that Kim couldn't keep track of it...

With a sharp pain, Kim was sent rolling as the fist struck a glancing blow on the back of her shoulder. Her suit's protective field absorbed some of the impact, and she got to her feet, staring at Ron.

Ron was sliding down the cloth of his left glove. 'What's the key to the success of any good engineer?' he said, grinning. Kim saw another white bracelet peeking out from beneath his glove. 'Redundancy, redundancy, redundancy!'

The Lotus Blade was flashing towards her again. Kim leaped high and flipped towards him, but in mid-air, she collided with Grimm, who had leaped to meet her. Both their shields flared and they both rolled backwards...

Sensei watched as the battle raged, unable to move in the vice-like grip of the electro-magnets. Then he looked to the side, seeing something moving towards him. 'Hmm...' said a friendly voice. A dark figure loomed over Sensei, staring down at him. Other shapes were moving behind him. 'They look like electromagnetic clamps. I can deactivate them easy enough, but seriously - whoever did this needs to mellow out with some soothing coco-moo!'

Behind the figure came an exasperated voice. 'Will you _please_ stop saying coco-moo?'

Sensei smiled.

As Kim landed, she heard harsh metallic cries and saw two Mega-bots charging at her. She fired her grappling line, trying to tangle their legs, but the Lotus Blade flashed from the side and cut the line in half.

With a shout, she rolled to the side and the Mega-bots overshot her, but as she came to a stop, she found herself facing Rhonda. 'This is for holding Grimm's hand!' she shouted, and she grappled Kim, sweeping her leg and rolling with a judo toss that sent her flying. But Kim rolled with the throw, using it to gain more height to her leap.

She saw a blur of black and reddish-orange beneath her and her shield flared again as Grimm kicked up from beneath. As she came to the height of her jump, she slowed briefly before descending, and saw a metallic flash from the side.

The Lotus Blade had formed into a wide barrier and she slammed into it with a heavy thud. She scrabbled at the wall the Blade had formed in front of her, trying to slow her fall, but the wall vanished almost instantly and she saw the Mega-bots waiting beneath her. There was nothing to stop her from falling into their waiting arms. She raised her hand, gritting her teeth as she saw the frayed end of her severed grapple line.

Desperately, she used her fall and put all her strength into a kick that smashed the head off the neck of one of the Mega-bots. But the other Mega-bot neatly pinioned her arm. Grimm seized her other arm and Rhonda grasped her legs with a flying tackle.

Kim struggled, but there were too many holding her to break free. Ron stepped forward. 'Gift-wrapped hero, my favorite!' he cackled, pointing to the floor a few feet in front of him. 'Put it right here!'

Kim found herself being thrown down at his feet. Grimm and Rhonda took their places behind Ron. Kim struggled to her knees. She had played her last trick, but Ron had seen right through it. Sensei and the Yamanouchi students were out of the fight. She was out of options, and out of ideas.

'Bravo!' Ron said, holding up the Lotus Blade. 'I applaud you for lasting this long, but now it's game over!'

'Ron...' she said, gasping for breath.

'Farewell, Kim Possible!' he screeched. 'As adversaries go, you were always a _cut_ above the rest!' The Lotus Blade glowed and was lancing towards her. She threw up her hands, hoping the battle suit's defensive shields would hold...

Coming Soon:

Chapter 8

Hail Hail, The Gang's All Here


	8. Chapter 8 The Gang's All Here

The Return of Zorpox

Chapter 8

Hail, Hail, The Gang's All Here

Illustrated version hosted at author's homepage (click author profile)

Kim Possible copyrighted by Disney

'Farewell, Kim Possible!' he screeched. 'As adversaries go, you were always a _cut_ above the rest!' The Lotus Blade glowed and was lancing towards her. She threw up her hands, hoping the battle suit's defensive shields would hold. But the Blade never reached her.

A green glow lit the warehouse and someone leaped between Kim and Ron. Two glowing hands swept in a wide circle and deflected the Lotus Blade with a flash of green light. Kim looked up, getting to her knees.

'_Shego_?' she said. There was no mistaking the black and green outfit and the curvy silhouette with a mane of dark hair.

Ron glared. 'What are _you_ doing here?' he grimaced.

Shego looked over her shoulder down at Kim. Kim flipped up into a defensive stance, ready for anything.

'Relax, Princess. This time we're on _your _side.' said Shego, and she winked, a smile on her face unlike any expression Kim had ever seen her use. It was friendly - and _sincere_. 'Jade sent us along - as many as she could round up. She said you could use a hand.'

'Us?' said Kim, her eyebrow raised.

From the shadows, several figures stepped forward. Kim gasped. Dr. Drakken was there, but his skin was flesh colored. Monkey Fist also sauntered forward, and Duff Killigan, as well as the Seniors. All of them formed a semi-circle around Kim, facing Ron.

'That poor girl!' said Drakken. 'She needs our help!'

'Aye.' said Killigan, taking out his pitching wedge. 'If ye want to hurt her, ye'll have to go through _us_!'

Kim couldn't believe it. All her worst enemies were standing around her, _protecting _her. It seemed beyond reason, but on this day, so little had been. _'Jade... you rock!'_ she thought.

'Well,' said Ron, a frown creeping onto his face. 'I thought any other do-gooders out there would be too busy with my world full of villains to even know what was going on, let alone find their way here. What a _burn_!'

Sensei walked to where Kim and the others were standing. 'It may have been unexpected for you.' he said. 'But I knew that help would come to our aid while none would come to yours. For while evil will always fight amongst itself for supremacy - good will always unite.'

Ron started to snicker, softly at first, but quickly rising to a full-throated screeching laugh. 'You... you've _got_ to be kidding!' he said, struggling to speak through his mirth. '_This_ is the best that good could scrape together? I'm supposed to be _intimidated_ by you clowns? You were all failures as villains - what makes you think you'll do any better as _heroes_? I christen you the Loser Brigade!' He started looking them up and down. 'Dr. Drakken!' he said, his voice dripping with scorn, 'A ten-time loser who's failed at everything he's ever tried!' From Kim's side, Shego chuckled for a brief instant.

'What are _you_ laughing at?' Ron sneered, his eyes locking onto her. 'You're an even bigger loser than Drakken! A pathetic sheep who'll follow anyone who waves a dollar bill under your nose!' Shego scowled, but Ron was already looking at the others.

'The Seniors - you're not even good enough to _be_ losers - you're just loser _wannabes_ who are all money and no brains! And there's _"Lord"_ Monkey Fist! A flea-bitten loser who still thinks he can take over the world with chimps!' He looked at Killigan, shaking his head and waving at him angrily. 'And you! Why am I even _talking_ to you? Calling you a loser would be an insult to losers everywhere! You've never done _anything_!'

Killigan's knuckles whitened around the club in his hand. 'Then a rammy wi' you sounds like a grand way to put some notches in me golf clubs!'

Ron gritted his teeth, his eyes narrowing. He snapped his fingers and Team Probable silently flanked him. 'Fine!' he said. 'You want to know what it's like to tangle with the top dog? You've _got_ it! Rhonda!' he said, nodding towards her, 'Activate the Mega-bots! _All_ of them!!' Rhonda mashed her palm on every button on her bracelet. From circular openings in the floor, dozens of Mega-bots slowly rose up, their eyes lighting.

'Mega-bots - _attack_!' Ron shrieked, and as one, the skeletal robots charged.

'Monkey ninjas - _attack_!' shouted Monkey Fist, gesturing forward. There was a wild screeching, and a number of ninja-clad monkeys leaped forward, tumbling over Kim and the others.

'Aaaaah!!!' Ron screamed, looking rattled for the first time. 'Monkeys!!!'

The Mega-bots and the monkey ninjas clashed. The Mega-bots had the edge in size, strength and numbers, and the initial melee had the monkey ninjas on the defensive. The Mega-bots drove through their ranks, tossing them aside.

Ron seemed to take courage after his initial flinch when he saw how well the Mega-bots were doing, and turned to Rhonda and Grimm. 'What are you guys waiting for?' he said. 'Get in there!' Grimm and Rhonda nodded and joined the fray.

Sensei had gone to the aid of the monkey ninjas, with Monkey Fist at his side. Grimm confronted him again, and the two resumed their duel. Junior and Senior were making their way towards Ron when Rhonda stopped them. 'Not so fast, Mr. Gotbucks!' she said, going into a ready stance.

Junior turned to Senior. 'Father, this is unacceptable! I cannot hit a _girl_!'

Senior nodded. 'Yes, that would be most dishonorable.'

Rhonda cracked her knuckles. 'Boy _that's_ a relief!' she said, then with a swift kick, she sent Junior sprawling backwards. 'Booyah!!'

Kim tried to thread her way towards Ron through a sea of battling Mega-bots, monkey ninjas and former villains. He was still the key to stopping this, and she focused on occupying the Mega-bots on the left flank. She fought them, using her shield device to protect herself from their strikes. As the Mega-bots turned their attention to her, the monkey ninjas who had been fighting them were free.

She stared at them, hoping they would obey her now that they were 'good'. 'Get _Ron_!' she said, pointing at him across the warehouse. The monkey ninjas looked at her, then looked to Monkey Fist, who, along with Sensei, was engaged in dueling Grimm.

'Do as she says!' said Monkey Fist, blocking a strike from Grimm and standing back to back with Sensei as two Mega-bots joined Grimm in his fight. The monkey ninjas looked back at Kim, and then dashed towards Ron, screeching.

Ron had been using the Lotus Blade to push Shego back through the ranks of Mega-bots she had managed to get around. But he turned and saw the gang of monkey ninjas charging at him and immediately the Lotus Blade formed a gleaming barrier around himself. 'Hey, no fair using _monkeys!_' he yelled.

'Who's the loser _now_, laddie?' said Killigan, chuckling as he watched Ron fending off Monkey Ninjas. He zipped open a pouch on his golf bag, spilling several white balls on the floor.

_'Fore!!'_ he shouted, and with a practiced swing of his club, he sent a golf ball flying straight at the head of a Mega-bot that was squaring off against Junior. The Mega-bot neatly caught the ball in a metallic hand, but with a high pitched beeping, the ball exploded, blasting the arm off the Mega-bot. The robot stood, with sparking wires trailing from the empty arm socket, then it charged at Killigan, racing at him full speed.

_'Fore!!'_

Another ball flew into the Mega-bot's midsection as it made a swift leap at Killigan. The upper and lower halves fell to the floor with a crash. Killigan smiled. 'That's one way to improve your handicap!' he said.

Shego barely managed to fend off a pair of Mega-bots as they struck relentlessly. 'Come on, Doc!' she said. 'You're the genius - can't you think of any way to stop these things?'

Drakken looked around in dismay at the raging battle. 'Oh my!' he said. 'So much _violence_!'

'So find a way to shut these things off before they _hurt_ someone!' Shego said, glaring.

Drakken bit his lower lip. 'Hmm - they seem to operate independently, so they're not being remote controlled... Each one must have it's own processing unit and a certain degree of artificial intelligence...'

'That's great, Doc.' said Shego, narrowly avoiding another strike. She fired another plasma burst, sending a Mega-bot flying backwards, though it quickly sprang to its feet and charged towards them again. 'But does it help us _beat_ them?'

Drakken cringed behind her as she kept fighting. 'Well, I could make something that might affect them temporarily, but I'll need parts and maybe some jamming equipment!'

'You mean like _that_?' Shego said, pointing to the table, which still had various circuits and machinery littered on it.

He moved towards the table. 'All right, but I have trouble working when robots are trying to put sharp, pointy things in me!'

'Got your six, Dr. D!' she said. 'Just work _fast_!'

'Oh, goody!' said Drakken, looking delighted. 'I love fixing things!'

Monkey ninjas were being swatted away left and right by a hand at the end of the Lotus Blade's tentacle. Ron still looked twitchy, but finally he stamped his foot, sending out a rippling shockwave which scattered the ninja primates. _'Scat!_' he yelled, and the monkeys backed away. He grinned wickedly. 'Not so scary now, are you?' he said triumphantly. 'Who's the ultimate monkey master? No points for guessing!' Then he scowled and turned around slowly.

'Kimberly _Ann_ Possible!' he said.

Kim stared at him. She had used the distraction of the fight to get to him, and now stood at the ready, confronting him. 'Ronald Stoppable.' she said.

'Coming in the game late again.' he said. 'Take a look, Possible. Even with the Loser Brigade, you're no match for my Mega-bot army!'

Kim winced. One glance at the battle told her that Ron wasn't just bragging. The assembled former villains were simply outnumbered. Even with elite fighters like Sensei, it was only a matter of time before they were overwhelmed.

He held up the Lotus Blade with a smirk. 'I know what you're thinking, Kimberly Ann.' he said. 'You're thinking - "If I can just take out Ron, then we can still win this!" And you're probably right! Looks like it all boils down to you and me, doesn't it? One would think it was destiny, or some stupid junk like that.'

'Yeah.' Kim said. 'We just can't keep ourselves apart, can we?'

'Well,' he said, his teeth flashing as he grinned at her. 'Let's find out if one really _is_ the loneliest number!'

Shego yelped as a Mega-bot's strike left a tearing cut in her shoulder. She flung it back with a plasma burst, but it rose up again, joined by another. Drakken was still hunched over the table, flashes of light rising up as he welded components together and spliced wires and circuits.

'How about it, Doc?' she said.

Drakken held out a small black box with various dials on it. ' With this device, I can pull signals from the jamming equipment in the warehouse and broadcast them in a short radius with much higher intensity.' He ducked as a monkey ninja spiraled past them. 'It won't stop them, but it will interfere with their processors enough to slow them down.'

The Mega-bot which had thrown the monkey ninja was racing towards them, whirling it's left hand on a chain extending from it's forearm. 'So just _do_ it, already!' Shego shouted.

Drakken hit a switch on the device. 'All right, you don't have to _yell_!' he said, looking hurt. As the Mega-bot drew close, it suddenly looked unsteady, wobbling on its feet, though it was still coming towards them.

Shego leaped at the Mega-bot, which moved to block her, but its arms didn't move quickly enough. Shego's glowing green hands slashed across the neck of the Mega-bot and its head went spiraling across the warehouse, it's body collapsing to the floor.

'All right, Dr. D.' said Shego, grinning. 'Now _you're_ taking point!'

'Oh _my_...' said Drakken as Shego pushed him forward into the thick of the battle.

Wherever Drakken walked, the Mega-bots would shudder and slow down, and the tide of the battle turned. The monkey ninjas and the other assembled villains were able to begin taking down the Mega-bots, one by one, as Drakken moved among them. Drakken looked ill at ease, but went wherever Shego prodded him.

'Sorry. Sorry.' he said, apologizing every time a Mega-bot was defeated and landed at his feet. 'Oooh, what a mess! I'm not normally this disruptive, you know - sorry! Sorry!'

Rhonda ducked as one of Killigan's golf balls blew apart another Mega-bot. A gang of monkey ninjas were overpowering another, filling the air with their raucous screeches while they peeled off parts of it's exoskeleton and tugged on wires and circuits.

Grimm was fending off Shego, blocking her greenish energy blasts before flipping backwards and sending her flying as his feet arced upwards and struck her in the chest. He landed standing back to back with Rhonda.

'The sitch is going all ca-ca-cooey on us.' she said, sounding nervous. 'Looks like Ron's plan is a bust! What do we _do_?'

'Eyes on the prize, Rhonda.' said Grimm. He looked more intent and focused than ever, but he was still smiling faintly as he continued fending off monkey ninjas, his protective field occasionally flaring up and encompassing both himself and Rhonda. 'I personally don't care if Ron succeeds or not. We're angling for something else completely.' His eye strayed towards Kim, who was approaching Ron through the fighting.

Kim stood before Ron, who glared at her. 'Once I deal with you, I'll mop the floor with your Loser Brigade!'

Kim felt her suit charged and ready. 'Come on, Ron.' she said. 'This isn't _you_! Don't make me do this!' She wasn't sure how she wanted this to end. Even if she defeated Ron, Grimm had destroyed the capsule containing his good side. The thought of having to watch Ron being hauled off to prison, ranting as Dr. Drakken always did, was almost too much for her to bear. But she had to stop him.

'Why do you keep talking like you can win?' he grinned. 'I've beaten you twice now - do you really think the third time's the charm?'

Kim felt a misery deeper than anything she had ever felt as she looked into Ron's face, twisted with evil glee, but in the midst of the raging battle, no further tears came to her eyes. 'I went easy on you before because of how I feel about you.' she said. 'But if you won't put an end to this, all bets are off. I can do anything.' she said quietly. 'Even fight _you_!'

'_Bring it_!' Ron screeched.

Kim charged forward, dodging the Lotus Blade, which snaked at her again. She tumbled and rolled, using her booster jump and leaping around Ron while the Lotus Blade continued to pursue her. Ron's face grimaced in concentration while Kim continued to dodge.

'You can't evade me forever!' he said, clenching his free hand. The fist which had formed at the end of the Lotus Blade flew after her. Kim flipped over Ron and skittered to the side, leaping across and dodging. For some time, Kim kept it up, managing to stay just ahead of the Lotus Blade.

Finally Kim landed a few feet in front of him and Ron grinned. 'Ah-_ha_!' he said. The fist shot at Kim, but suddenly it stopped a foot or two away from her. The hand flexed and clutched at the air, fighting to go forward. 'Huh...?' Ron said quietly. Then he looked around. He was standing in the middle of a vast web of twisted metal which trailed here and there as if someone had blown up a box full of streamers. The tentacle of the Lotus Blade was tangled and twisted everywhere.

Then Ron glanced up and saw the underside of Kim's foot for one brief instant. 'Oh _crud_.' he muttered, then flew backwards with a muffled shout as Kim kicked solidly off from his chest. The Lotus Blade flew from his hand, the snarls and tendrils disappearing in a flash of light. The sword reformed and landed on the floor with a ringing clang.

'Oh _really_ cute!' said Ron, rising up. Kim stood in front of him and lashed out with all her strength. He tapped his belt buckle and a glowing green cylinder formed around him. Kim's attack was deflected away. 'You think you got game? You ain't got game!'

'Give it up, Ron!' she said. 'It's so over!'

'So _not_!' he said. 'You think I'll run cryin' home to momma just because you disarmed me once?' He kept one hand poised over the button on his belt that controlled his shield device. The other hand moved to the pouch on his belt. 'Admit it!' he sneered. 'You've always _wondered_ what I keep in here, haven't you?' He slipped what looked like a ray gun from the pouch - a gun with a U-shaped protrusion on the end like a tuning fork. Kim went back to a ready stance.

'Check it!' Ron said. 'It's called the Mega Magnetic Manipulator - or _MMM_ for short - 'cause it's _mmm-mmm good_!'

Kim leaped at him again, but Ron squeezed the MMM and a blue bubble surrounded him. Kim felt herself catapulted back, landing with a thud. She saw the Lotus Blade next to her and glanced nervously back at Ron.

'Pretty cool, huh?' he was saying. 'The entire Earth is a colossal magnet, you know. With this device I can focus it's incredible power and use it to repel things...'

Kim rolled and seized the Lotus Blade, rising up and charging at him.

'...or attract them!' Ron said, grinning. Kim paused and gasped as the Lotus Blade was wrenched from her grasp and started whirling towards the MMM in Ron's hand.

_'No!' _

Kim turned, for the voice was not hers. Monkey Fist flipped forward and landed beside her, holding up his hand. The Lotus Blade stopped in mid-air, hovering.

'Monkey-man!' said Ron slowly, his eyes narrowing.

'Ron Stoppable.' Monkey Fist answered, his voice sounding as dignified as ever, 'Sensei is quite right - we will not allow the Lotus Blade to be used for evil! And in case you've forgotten - I have Mystical Monkey Power as well!'

Kim stared as both Ron and Monkey Fist stood with their hands raised. Monkey Fist's fingers were trembling as if he were arm wresting. The MMM was emitting a high-pitched whine in Ron's hand. The Lotus Blade remained floating in the air between them. They both glared into each other's eyes for a moment.

Then Ron began to run forward towards the Lotus Blade, and Monkey Fist did as well. Both their hands clasped around the hilt and they were surrounded by an eerie glow. They stood that way for several moments, and the Lotus Blade bent and twisted, leaning first towards Ron, then to Monkey Fist, then back and forth between them, changing shape, rippling and bubbling as they fought.

Ron glared at Monkey Fist, his face looking surprised. 'You were never able... to control the Lotus Blade... like this before!' he grated, sweat beading on his forehead.

Monkey Fist's teeth were clenched and he also was sweating with the effort of their contest of will. 'That's because I never realized...' he said, ..how _good_ I could be!'

'Rufus!' Ron yelled. And Rufus began leaping towards them, flying in an arc toward the handle of the Lotus Blade...

'Monkey Power!' Rufus squeaked, but suddenly he saw the iron bars of a cage and gasped. He had leaped right back into the cage, which Kim Possible was now holding. Kim snapped the door shut and locked it.

'Sorry, Rufus.' she said. 'I'll make it up to you later!'

'Do-gooder!' Rufus squealed, staring at her through the bars with slitted eyes.

She turned back to Ron and Monkey Fist, who were both still clutching at the Lotus Blade. Both of them cried out until their voices rose to a screaming pitch and the sword began to glow with a white light, which steadily grew brighter until at last there was a blinding flash. Both Ron and Monkey Fist flew back in opposite directions. Monkey Fist crashed into the large table full of parts and scrap metal before falling to the floor with a groan. Ron slammed into the huge screen above the control console. The screen cracked and Ron fell tumbling down the steps leading up to the console, sliding to the bottom and lying still. The Lotus Blade fell to the floor.

'Ron!' Kim ran forward and turned his limp body over so he was lying face up. She sighed with relief as she found his heart beating and his breathing was steady. He was simply out cold. She stood up. Ron was down, but the battle was still raging through the warehouse. She glanced up at the hulking metallic spider which was the Mega Synaptic Transducer.

No matter what happened after, she had to destroy it now. Kim heard Killigan yelling _'Fore_!' again. She saw a swish of white and leaped forward, catching a golf ball explosive in mid-flight. 'Sorry Duff.' she shouted. 'I need to borrow this one!'

'Quite all right, lassie!' he yelled from across the warehouse. 'There's plenty for everyone!'

She looked around. Killigan, Shego, and a horde of monkey ninjas were beating down the last of the Mega-bots. Senor Senior Sr. and Junior were fighting with Grimm and Rhonda, though it was clear they were no match for Team Probable. Ron and Monkey Fist were still down.

She ran to the main console. The switch Ron had set was there, with a panel button reading 'Big Shield Turn On Now' below where it was set in place. At the top was another panel, reading 'Turn Off Big Shield Thingy'. She could not help smiling faintly. Underneath it all, the Ron she knew was still in there. She would find a way to save him - no matter what it took.

She set the switch to turn off, and the shimmering field which surrounded the Mega-Synaptic Transducer faded away with a slowly diminishing hum. Kim stared up at the metal circle, and with a grunt, she threw Killigan's golf ball with all her strength. It flew straight and true, striking the base of the metallic circle on top of the Mega Synaptic Transducer. There was a bright explosion. Kim saw the colored energy fields within the circle change places, and then the upper section of the Transducer was blasted apart. A series of smaller explosions hopscotched across the middle portion as metal and wires rained down from above. And finally, the large support struts which held up the machine wobbled, groaned and the Transducer collapsed with a roaring crash which echoed through the warehouse.

The villains-turned-good suddenly hunched over, clutching their heads, and then straightened up again. Drakken's skin was turning blue before her eyes. 'Help Kim Possible?' he said, looking around in confusion. 'What was I _thinking_?'

'I think we're all wondering that, laddie.' said Killigan, adjusting his golf hat.

Shego turned her eyes to where Kim was standing at the console. Monkey Fist was struggling to his feet. 'Well,' she said, the evil glint returning to her eye. 'As long as we're all here, we may as well finish what the buffoon started!' Her fists lit up with a green glow.

'Indeed.' said Senor Senior Sr. 'How very kind of Mr. Stoppable to soften her up for us...'

They advanced towards her, but Kim smiled and pressed another button on the console that was labeled 'Set Troublesome Prisoners Loose'. The cylinders that imprisoned Yori and the Yamanouchi students retracted and a dozen black-suited ninja vaulted forward with Kim at their side.

'Aaaaah!' said Drakken. 'No one told me there would be _ninja_!'

'I suppose you're gonna run now?' said Shego with a sigh.

'I wasn't going to say it _out loud_, but yes!' said Drakken, and he dashed towards one of the many gaping holes in the warehouse wall. Duff and the Seniors followed after him. Shego looked back defiantly towards Kim. 'Later, _princess_.' she said, then turned and ran.

Monkey Fist moved towards the Lotus Blade and raised his hand. But the sword did not rise or move towards him. He frowned, crawling forward, and reached for the hilt. But he drew back his hand in alarm, as a wooden sandal came down and stepped on the shaft of the Lotus Blade.

'This does not belong to you.' said Sensei. Two more of his students came up to support him, their hands raised and ready.

Monkey Fist stared at him, glancing and seeing Kim and the others closing around him on either side. 'Another time, then.' he said, bowing slightly. Then he sped away after the others, shouting 'Monkey ninjas, retreat!' His black-clad followers scampered after him, their tails vanishing through the gaps in the warehouse walls.

Kim unlocked Rufus' cage, then turned and faced Grimm. He was standing at the main console, with Rhonda at his side, and Rueful perched on her shoulder. He was staring at them with a faint smile, not seeming to care that he and Rhonda were now alone and outnumbered.

'It's over, Grimm.' she said. 'Now I owe you something for what you did to Ron...' She glanced at Ron, who still lay on the floor, his skin still blue. Ron had curled himself up with his cape around him and was snoring as he lay.

'Why yes, I _will_ have Diablo Sauce with my world...' he murmured between snores.

'Call them off, Possible.' said Grimm, looking calculated but still defiant as the ninja and Sensei formed a semi-circle around them. 'You'll want to think twice before you get us mad.' He snapped his fingers and Rhonda reached into her belt pouch. Kim let out a gasp and felt a renewed bite of fear and concern as Rhonda handed Grimm a fist-sized capsule that was glowing blue. He held it out. 'Ron's good - his Yang, as it were, is here.' Grimm said. 'If anyone tries anything, I break this and Stoppable stays on _our_ side forever!'

'You said you already destroyed it.' Kim said.

Rhonda chirped in. '_Duh_!' she said. 'He _lied_!'

'Blue phosphorous.' Grimm said, a satisfied smile on his face. 'It's kind of annoying when someone fakes you out, isn't it Kim? Well, I guess we _both_ know that now.' he said. 'As it stands, I'm more than willing to help you get Stoppable back to his normal self. For starters - the Attitudinator is in the cabinet.' He nodded to a large cabinet a dozen yards from the console and watched as two Yamanouchi students opened it and brought the gleaming metallic helmet over to Kim.

Barely a few moments later, Kim had the Attitudinator fastened to Ron's head. 'How do I know you're not lying now?' she said.

'You don't.' he answered flatly. He kept staring at her. 'Do you want it or not?' he said. Kim said nothing, but held out her hand. 'Say _please_.' he said.

Kim felt anger boiling inside her. But she fought it back and kept her hand held out. 'Please...' she said. 'I want Ron back.'

Grimm stepped forward slowly, and placed the capsule in her hand.

'_Why_?' she said, gritting her teeth.

He stared back at her, and for a moment he looked equally furious. 'Because you _played_ me the last time we met, Kim Possible.' he said, an electric spark of anger in his voice. 'I fought you fair and square - but the only way you could contrive to defeat me was to play me. I did all of this for one reason only, which I think our good Sensei is uniquely fitted to understand.' he nodded to the ninja master, who stood quietly, staring at him.

'What reason?' said Kim.

Grimm paused, seeming to relish the moment. 'To restore... _balance_.' he said. 'Plus I couldn't wait to see the look on your face.'

Kim stood trembling with anger. 'Yeah - _that _look.' he said with a smirk. There was a sudden flash of light and Kim saw Rhonda putting a camera in her backpack.

'Got it, GP!' she chirped. 'One for the scrapbook!'

Kim balled up a fist, prepared to strike. 'First things first, Kim.' said Grimm, nodding toward Ron. Kim snapped the glowing blue pod into the Attitudinator and with a high pitched whine, the pod went dark, while the right side of the Attitudinator suddenly lit up with a brilliant blue.

Ron struggled to a sitting position with a low moan. Kim felt a wash of relief and a sudden happiness so strong she felt tears starting in her eyes. Ron was still dressed in his costume, but his skin had lost its blue tinge, returned to its normal flesh tone. She threw her arms around him and held him tightly, forgetting everything else but the simple joy of having him back.

'Kim, what happened?' he said, his bleary eyes locking onto her at once. 'Last thing I remember was...' and he flinched as he saw Grimm and Rhonda. 'Waaaagh!' he squealed, backing away with a frenzied crabwalk.

Grimm and Rhonda didn't move, but Grimm stared down at Ron. 'Listen to me very carefully, Stoppable.' he said, his voice was sharp and serious. 'She'll say she did it to protect you. She's _lying_.'

'You are _so_ busted!' Kim growled, standing up and turning to Grimm. The ninja and even Sensei were closing in on them.

Grimm did not seem remotely abashed. 'How do you feel, Kim?' he said. 'Are you so full of rage that you want to hurt me?'

Kim stared at him, panting, her fists clenched. 'Take your shot, Kim.' he said, spreading out his arms. 'I'll give you one for free. You know you want to, I can see it in your eyes!'

Kim lashed out with a right hook. Grimm's head snapped to the side and he grunted in pain. He turned back to stare at her, rubbing his chin, a slow smile creeping across his lips. 'Welcome to the dark side, Kim Possible.' He turned to Rhonda. 'What did I tell you?' he said to her. 'We didn't even _need_ the Attitudinator for her.'

'The G-man is never wrong!' Rhonda said, smiling up at him.

He turned back to Kim. 'I want you to remember how you feel now Kim.' he said, his expression turning hard and cold. 'The next time you even _think_ about trying to play me or Rhonda, remember how you feel right now - because if you _ever_ try it again, you'll get more of the same!' He fired his grappling hook in the air. Rhonda threw her arms around his neck. Grimm's booster soles activated, the grapple line whirred, and they both shot upwards, rising toward a hole in the ceiling.

Twelve sets of hands flew as each Yamanouchi student flung throwing stars up at them, but a sphere of reddish-orange formed around them and the shield device flashed as each star came close to them, repelling them back. The shuriken fell to the ground with the sound of ringing metal as Grimm and Rhonda continued to rise towards the gaping hole in the roof.

Rhonda stared down at Kim wickedly. '_Stew_ in it, pom-pon!' she shouted, and then they were gone.

Ron was staring at his grey reflection in the main console screen. It was cracked in several places, splitting his image into a fragmented web. 'I remember - Grimm used the Attitudinator on me.' He looked at his outfit, his cape. 'Was I... Zorpox again?'

Kim nodded weakly. Just like before, Ron seemed to remember only flashes of what he had done while he was evil. Ron looked around at all the wreckage. 'Did I do this?' he asked, his voice timid, as if he were dreading the answer.

'It wasn't you, Ron...' she started.

'It _was_ Kim!' he said, tearing off his goggles and clenching his hands. 'Grimm said the Attitudinator wasn't gonna put someone else's evil in me - it was just going to suck out the good! This wasn't Zorpox - it was Ronster the Monster!' Rufus looked up at him, and let out a sympathetic groan.

Ron turned to Sensei, who stood looking at him, his students and Yori standing beside him. 'Sensei, I let you down. I let all of you down. Some 'chosen one' I turned out to be.' he said, slouching and bowing his head. 'I used the Lotus Blade to... Oh _man_... I am _so_ not worthy...' Yori looked down too, her eyes flicking to Sensei for a brief instant.

'That is not so, Stoppable-san.' Sensei said, and there was warmth and understanding in his voice. 'Your heart was, and still remains pure. The evil that was in you was only placed out of balance through means beyond your control. But you still found the strength to resist. You could have done great harm to Kim Possible with the Lotus Blade - but each time, you chose only to capture her. While indeed there is darkness in each heart, it is almost always balanced by the light. That is the true philosophy of the Yin-Yang. The one cannot exist without the other, and each has part of the other within it. If that were not so, you would never have found the strength within yourself to resist the evil, and give good the chance it needed for victory.'

Ron was still looking down, not saying anything.

Sensei smiled again. 'If you still doubt your place as the chosen one, you may confirm it with one simple test...' he gestured toward the Lotus Blade, which lay shining on the floor.

Ron still looked ashamed, but raised his arm. He glanced over at Kim, who smiled at him and nodded. 'Here Lotus, Lotus, Lotus...' he said, holding out his hand.

At once, the Lotus Blade rose up and shot towards him. It swished past him, imbedding in the console screen. There was a ripping sound, and Kim blushed as the sword whirled past, somehow tearing off his jumpsuit and cape, leaving him only in his purple boots and a pair of lavender boxers with a pattern of black Zs. 'Aw _man_!' he said, staring down.

Sensei smiled. 'I believe, chosen one, that we may take this as a sign that all is well once more.' he said.

Coming Soon:

Chapter 9

Worse Than the Storm: Aftermath


	9. Chapter 9 Always There

The Return of Zorpox

Chapter 9

Aftermath - Always There

Illustrated version hosted at author's homepage (click author profile)

Kim Possible copyrighted by Disney

Later at her house, Kim had bidden farewell to the Yamanouchi School. Sensei had taken the Lotus Blade back with him. A black helicopter was waiting in the back yard, it's blades rotating and making the grass wave beneath its breeze while Yori stood talking with Kim.

'All is now as it was.' said Yori. 'We have much to thank you for. Is your family now well?'

Kim glanced over her shoulder through the sliding glass door. Her parents and brothers stood there, smiling faintly. They had been profoundly embarrassed when the Transducer was destroyed to find they had been building a doomsday device in the living room. They had dismantled it over the past few hours; despite Jim and Tim's initial protests. Bonnie had been found in the kitchen, tied to a chair. Bonnie was not so much angry that she had been tied up, but over the fact that the ropes had chafed her smooth skin.

'They're back to their awesome selves.' she said. She felt a sudden appreciation for them all. Despite all the perceived hassles they brought to her life, she would not trade them for anything. And having to deal with them trying to take over the world made her appreciate their normal selves all the more. 'I guess in some weird way, Grimm made me see how great my life is.' She said, waving to her family from the yard.

'I am glad, Possible-chan.' said Yori, bowing slightly. 'But if I may draw on your kindness still more - there is something I would ask of you.'

'Name it.' said Kim, smiling.

'It is Stoppable-san.' she said, and Kim could not help noting how Yori was no longer looking her in the eye. 'I do not know what it is - but something is still wrong. His heart is not yet right. Please - if you can find a way to heal him - do so.'

Kim nodded. After the police had arrived to start cleaning up at the warehouse, Ron had gone straight home without a word. Kim had thought that he simply didn't want to explain to the cops that he had made the mess in the first place, but at Yori's words, she felt concerned.

It was Saturday, and there was no school. Kim had gone to Ron's house, but he was not there. She checked the treehouse, and a few more of Ron's normal haunts before she finally found him at Bueno Nacho. He was sitting alone in a booth, staring at his meal, prodding his Naco with a plastic fork, but not eating anything. Rufus was sitting on the table, looking up at him, his pink hairless face looking sad and helpless.

'Hey there, Ronster!' said Kim, trying to sound cheerful. Ron glanced up at her.

'Hey, Kim.' he said, and glanced back down.

Kim sat down across from him. He kept staring down at his plate. A few silent seconds passed before Kim spoke again. 'Well, the cops aren't pressing charges. I think we have Sensei to thank for that. I guess it pays to have ninja in high places.'

Ron nodded, but said nothing.

'There's no sign of Grimm or Rhonda anywhere.' she went on. 'But I guess they think they got even with me - if that's all they wanted. I doubt they'll be coming back.'

Ron still remained silent, not looking up at her. She couldn't tell if he was upset or ashamed. Finally he said, 'And the Attitudinator?'

'Metal shredder.' said Kim, frowning. If she never saw one of them again, it would be too soon for her. She was going to have to have Wade do some serious hacking to see if he could get it discontinued by HenchCo.

The silence resumed. Kim could tell that Ron's food was stone cold, so he had to have been here for some time already. But he just sat there, saying nothing, not even looking at her. Finally, she couldn't stand it anymore and dropped all pretense. 'Ron, what's the sitch?' she said helplessly. 'Look at me - _talk_ to me. Yori said that something was wrong. Let me help you - _please_.'

Ron finally raised his head and looked into her eyes. She saw a look of deep hurt in them. 'Do you remember when I took the battle suit?' he said. 'I felt so low because of what I did, I wanted to crawl into a corner and disappear. And when you forgave me I felt even worse because I didn't think I deserved it.' He sighed and shook his head, staring back down at the table. 'But I guess it's always been like that, hasn't it?' he said, with an unmistakable edge of bitterness. 'Ron the screw-up. Ron the liar. Ron the 'bad boy'. The no-good louse who's always doing something wrong - always ruining everything. And always left wondering what I ever did to deserve a friend as amazing as you.'

Kim took his hand. 'Why are you talking like that?' she said, shaking her head. 'You're not a louse. And you didn't screw up on this one. Everything that happened, what you did, that's all on Grimm, not you. No one blames you for what happened. If that's all that's bothering you...'

'It's _not_ that, Kim.' he said, his voice low and doleful.

'Then _what_?' she said. When he had been missing, she would have given the world just to see him again. But seeing him so depressed and not knowing why was tearing at her almost as badly as the desperation she had felt when searching for him.

'I'm not down because I want you to forgive me.' he said, now sounding hesitant and uncomfortable. 'I'm down because... now I have to forgive you.'

'What are you talking about?'

Ron looked piercingly at Kim as he pushed something across the table with his finger. Kim saw a small microchip, about half the size of a postage stamp.

'Grimm told me everything.' he said, his voice flat, but sounding miserable all the same. 'He told me you and Wade put _this_ in me. That you've been using it to spy on me for years. That you did it... because you don't believe in me. Because you don't trust me.'

Kim suddenly felt cold and dead inside. The chip, as small as it was, filled all her vision, but didn't block out Ron's next words.

'Tell me the _truth_, Kim. Tell me Grimm made it up and that you and Wade didn't do this to me. If you can tell me it's just another one of his head games, I'll forget all about it - but look me in the eyes when you say it.'

Kim kept staring at the chip. She and Wade had discussed it many times - it had always seemed harmless, even funny. But as she looked up into Ron's eyes and saw his expression of sadness and betrayal, suddenly it didn't seem funny at all. She opened her mouth, but couldn't speak. She looked down, unable to face him.

'It... it isn't what you think...' she said.

'So you're _not_ a cheat and a liar?' Ron cut in.

Kim flinched. Word for word, it was almost the same exchange they'd had during the fight about the battle suit, only this time their positions were reversed. She remembered how Ron had frankly confessed when confronted over it. She felt a sudden sympathy with him. If how she was feeling now was anything like how Ron had felt, it truly did tank.

'OK.' she said, softly. 'It _is_ what you think.'

Ron's voice was heavy as he spoke again. 'Why didn't you _tell_ me? I'd have probably laughed it off if I had only heard it from you.' He said. 'But _Grimm_ had to be the one to clue me in! Do you know it feels like to learn that someone who's a total jerk has been more honest with you than your best friend?' he said, lowering his head. 'I felt like dirt after I took the battle suit, and when you said how you didn't care about anything else - as long as I was honest? Was _that _a lie too?'

Kim didn't know what to say. 'It... it wasn't _like_ that, Ron.' she said desperately. 'Wade and I have been discussing it for a long time...'

'And afterwards?' he said sadly. 'All the times you could have told me, but didn't? I know I get captured a lot, and sometimes you need a way to find me. But _this_? I would have understood, Kim. All you had to do was _ask_.'

All the talks about ethics she'd had with Wade flashed through her mind. 'Ron, its _saved_ you - its saved _us_... so many times. We'd never have made it through some of our missions without it. I left it in to protect...' She stopped. Grimm's words, not understood when he spoke them, suddenly ripped through her mind like a thunderbolt.

_'She'll say she did it to protect you - she's lying.'_

She sat gripping the edge of the table, burning with shame. Once again, she had played straight into Grimm's hands. Even after everything that had happened, she was still allowing him to use her own actions as weapons against her. She sighed, bracing herself. It was time to stop playing his game.

'No.' she said. 'I _won't_ make excuses.' She looked tearfully into Ron's eyes. 'You're right, Ron. I should have told you. I'm sorry.'

Several minutes passed in silence. 'I'll do whatever it takes to make it right.' she said at last, her voice breaking slightly. 'Please... don't hate me.'

Ron still looked miserable, but surprise flickered into his eyes. 'Kim, I could _never_ hate you.' he said, laying a hand on hers. 'I _love_ you. And as many times as you've forgiven me when I screwed up... I really would be a louse if I didn't forgive you.' He looked down at the chip and let out a sigh of resignation. 'And if you want me to put this chip back... I won't say no.'

Kim stared at the chip. At that precise moment in time, she hated it. A tiny square of silicon and plastic that had suddenly driven a wedge between her and the person she cared about more than anyone in the world. 'Get rid of it.' she said at last. 'We don't need it anymore.' She looked into his eyes and a love, deep and pure, filled all her heart. 'I _trust_ you, Ron.' she said. 'I _believe_ in you.' she took his hand and held it tightly.

And at last, Ron smiled.

The bell rang through Middleton High on the following Monday. The marquee outside read, "_Middleton High: Now (Nearly) 100 Evil Free_!"

'Sorry about not helping you out, Kim.' said Wade, staring out from the screen inside her open locker. 'I was... kinda _off_ that day!'

'We all were.' said Kim. 'No big! So, did you manage to take over Everlot?'

Wade laughed shortly. 'Not really. Everyone else in Everlot had the same idea. Do you know how hard it is to take over a world when everyone else is trying to do it at the same time?'

'I've got some idea.' Kim said. 'There wasn't as much damage as there might have been. With everyone in the world trying to take over, they mostly wound up just countering each other's plots. Did you clear Jade out of your systems?'

Wade scratched his head. 'Thing is, she cleared _herself_ out while she was good. She even left an e-mail apologizing for all the trouble. She was actually really nice about the whole thing.'

'Wade...' she said smiling. 'Are you crushing on _Jade_?'

Wade flushed. 'No!' he said. 'Once the Transducer went up, she sent another email saying she was going to hack me to the stone age.'

'How about HenchCo?' she said.

Wade grinned broadly. 'I got into their systems and made some... _alterations_ to their factory specs. If they try selling any more Attitudinators, they'll wind up with some very dissatisfied customers.'

'Do I want to know what they do now?' said Kim, smiling wryly.

'Let's just say anybody using one will develop a sudden fondness for doing the Hokey-Pokey.' he answered.

'Wade, you always have and always will rock!' she grinned.

'Yo, KP!' Ron's voice came from down the hall. She saw him strolling towards her, looking quite his old self. She also saw everyone else in the hallway giving him a wide berth, stepping out of his way and flattening themselves against the walls as he walked past. A Freshman who came around the corner and nearly bumped into him actually screamed and ran the other way.

Kim raised an eyebrow as he stopped at her locker. 'So...' she said. 'You enjoying the bad boy reputation?'

Ron shrugged. 'It was kinda weird at first, but then I figured hey, run with it! You know you can't _buy_ this kind of street cred!'

Kim glanced over his shoulder at the crowds who were looking at him with wide eyes and pale faces. 'I guess putting your face on TV, threatening to take over the world and throwing everything into chaos is one way to cred yourself up.' she said.

Ron leaned against the wall. 'You know you've got cred too, right?'

'I do?' she said, confused.

Ron nodded. 'Just by me standing here.' he said. 'You're the bad boy's girlfriend!'

Kim smiled faintly. 'You know it won't last, right?' she said. 'You're just too _good _to be bad.'

He smiled back. 'I know, KP. But it'll be... kinda fun while it lasts.'

Kim smiled and took his hand. 'I love you... _bad boy_.' she said quietly. She was about to lean in and kiss him, when she noticed something on his wrist.

Ron was wearing a bracelet - a thin white band just like the one that had protected her from the effects of the Mega Synaptic Transducer. Only instead of the strange circuits she had seen in her bracelet, she saw a plastic square containing a microchip - about half the size of a postage stamp.

'Nice bracelet.' she said. 'Is that...'

'Yep.' said Ron, nonchalantly holding up his forearm. 'Now you can keep tabs on your bad boy 24/7.'

Kim shook her head. 'Ron, you don't have to...'

'I know.' he said, waving his hand softly. 'But I _want _to. You said you believe in me. That was all I needed, Kim. I'm keeping this now because I believe in _you_. I've always been there for you. And this is just my way of saying - I know you'll always be there for me.'

Kim couldn't stop a thick tear from beading in her eye. But she was spared the trouble of having to wipe it away as they found themselves in each other's arms, their lips meeting in a tender kiss.

The End

Next Time:

Liars and Fighters and Bears, oh my!

_Author's notes: In "All Things Probable", the theme of the story was Janus, the two-headed Roman god. In this one, it was the Yin-Yang. Team Probable was made with 'opposites' in mind, and the theme of duality and opposition was continued in "The Return of Zorpox", hopefully on an even more profound and deep psychological level._

_One of the constants in the Kim Possible universe has been this - Ron screwing up, Ron doing something wrong, Ron behaving badly, and having to depend on Kim's good heart for redemption and forgiveness. Which led me to wonder. Has Kim ever done anything to Ron that might be considered underhanded and cruel? Besides lying to him in the Halloween episode, the clear answer was yes. What kind of person would plant tracking devices on their best friend without telling them?_

_So Kim finds herself in the position that Ron has been in so many times before - having her deceit and her manipulative nature exposed, and having to confront the consequences head on. She also finds herself having to depend on Ron's good heart for forgiveness, and being forced to feel what it's like to have your evil side dragged out into the light. And to have it done by Team Probable, no less - a group of villains placing themselves on the moral high ground above the hero._

_Of course in season4, Ron may find out about the chip in some other way and as said at the end of this story, may simply 'laugh it off'. But this tale hopefully will still stand as a great 'what if', with Ron finding out in the worst possible way. The other aspects of the tale, Zorpox' return, the Mega Synaptic Transducer, the confrontation over Ron's good side, Kim's slight fall from goodness as a result of Grimm's game, were all simply icing on a very robust cake. It all seemed to come together well, allowing each character to explore their dual natures._

_Hopefully, the story was enjoyed by all - those who wanted Zorpox to return as well as the K/R shipper crowd. The reviews so far have been mostly positive - so look for Team Probable to come back for yet another Kim Possible fanfiction. The question has been asked several times now - what 'power' does Rhonda have to match Ron's Mystical Monkey Power? Hmmm..._


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